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Jatropha gaumeri
Jatropha gaumeri, with no commonly used English name, is a shrub or small tree native to tropical Mexico and contiguous Central America. It belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae.
From the article Jatropha gaumeri on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Range & habitat
In Mexico, Jatropha gaumeri occurs in the southern states of Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca and Tabasco, and throughout the Yucatan Peninsula, as well as in Belize and Guatemala.
Wikipedia: “Distribution”
In medicine
Among the Mayan people in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, Jatropha gaumeri is one of the most frequently used plants in traditional medicine. When cut, the tree exudes a milky latex used to alleviate skin rashes, mouth blisters, fever and bone fractures. In fact, studies show that extracts from roots and leaves demonstrate antimicrobial and antioxidant activity. A study with mice found that latex from cut stalks and leaves showed a wound healing efficacy of 97%.
Wikipedia: “Traditional medicine”
In human culture
The genus name Jatropha derives from the Greek iatros meaning "physician," and trophē meaning "nourishment." This relates to the medicinal features of various Jatropha species. The species name gaumeri honors George Franklin Gaumer, a physician and prolific collector of plants and animals in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. When in 1907 Jesse More Greenman named and described Jatropha gaumeri, he referenced plants collected by Gaumer in his description.
== References ==
Wikipedia: “Etymology”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Jatropha gaumeri in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 282254.