Jatropha cardiophylla

Common Name: Limberbush, Sangre de Drago
Oˊodham Name: Wa:s Audio
Group: Succulents － Desert, Chaparral

Description

Jatropha cardiophylla grows form a large, underground tuber that produces a small number of stems up to 3 feet long. The stems are thick and succulent, and normally are leafless. During the Monsoon, a small number of shiny, heart-shaped leaves are produced. The leaves and stems contain a natural latex rubber. The stems may be used to produce a red dye. This species grows among rocks in the desert and on rocky slopes in the chaparral between 2500 and 4000 ft elevation.

entire plant (July)
single plant (June)
grove

Classification

Kingdom Plantae － Plants

Subkingdom Tracheobionta － Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta － Seed plants

Division Magnoliophyta － Flowering plants

Class Magnoliopsida － Dicotyledons

Subclass Rosidae

Order Euphorbiales

Family Euphorbiaceae － Spurge family

Genus Jatropha L. － nettlespurge

Species Jatropha cardiophylla (Torr.) Müll. Arg. － sangre de cristo

More Information

USDA Plant Profile and Map