Jatropha curcas
Family
Oleaceae
Synonyms
Nyctanthes sambac L.
Vernacular Names
| Malaysia | Melor (Peninsular). |
| English | Arabian Jasmine. |
| Indonesia | Melati (General), menur (Javanese). |
| Philippines | Manul (Bisaya), sampaguita (Tagalog), kampupot (Tagalog, Pampanga). |
| Cambodia | Molih (Chinese). |
| Thailand | Khao taek (Mae Hong Son), tiamuun. {Chiang Mai), mali son. |
| Vietnam | l[af]i, hoa nh[af]i. |
| French | Jasmin d’arabie. |
Geographical Distributions
J. sambac probably originated in India and was brought to Malaysia and Java around the 3rd century; since then widely cultivated throughout the Malesian region for its heavily scented flowers.
Description
This shrub is somewhat an untidy straggling climber or lax when young up to 3 m tall and rooting at the nodes.
The leaves are 1-foliolate, egg-shaped with a size of 2.5-9 cm x 2-6.5 cm and thin. The base is sub-heart-shaped to obtuse or wedge-shaped. The apex is obtuse or acuminate. The margins are slightly wavy, hairless or finely hairy on the main veins, with several sunken and bearded vein-axils beneath.
The inflorescence is a 3-flowered determinate inflorescence or a many-flowered compact cluster. Their flowers are single or double (in cultivated varieties), with 7-10 sepal segments, 2.5-7 mm long and finely hairy. The petal tube is 7-15 mm long, with 5-many lobes, oval or oblong, size 8-15 mm long, mostly white and heavily fragrant.
The fruit is a black berry and surrounded by the sepal.
Ecology / Cultivation
J. sambac is widely planted and occurring from sea-level up to 800 m altitude. Several double-flowered varieties are recognized, none of which produce fruit..
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
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Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 12(1): Medicinal and poisonous plants 1.
