General Information

COMMON NAMES: Physic Nut, Barbados Nut, Purging Nut; German Purgiernuss TRADITIONAL NAMES: Fiki / Tuitui Pakarangi? (RR), Tuke (AT MT), Piki (MK); Other Polynesian - Fiki (TON) GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Mexico - Guatamala COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent (common by 1920s), Not naturalised; S.Group - uncommon, widespread; N.Group - absent; Land, lowlands SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Support for Vanilla, Medicine; Poisonous to eat raw fruit - moderate KEY FEATURES: Small tree to 5m. LEAVES alternate, wide-oval to heart-shaped with 3-5 angles; to 25x15cm; stalk to 15cm. FLOWERS terminal cluster, separate male and female, both with petals, 5, greenish to yellowish-white. FRUIT ovoid, to 4x3cm, yellow then drying and splitting. SEEDS 3, black, hard and rough, to 2x1cm.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present    Makatea: Present
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
++	+	++	+	+	++	-		-

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Jatropha curcas Linnaeus
SYNONYMS: Curcas purgans

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ROSIDAE; Euphorbiales; EUPHORBIACEAE

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Support for Vanilla, Medicine. Comments: Seed oil used in candle or soap making (elsewhere). Seeds have a pleasant taste but contain an oil causing vomiting and purging, hence the name Physic Nut, meaning Purge Nut.
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Poisonous to eat raw fruit - moderate

IDENTIFICATION: Small tree, to 5m; deciduous Leaves wide-ovate to heart-like, to 25x15cm, 3-5-angled or lobed; stalk to 15cm. FLOWERS terminal clusters; MALE calyx with 5 lobes to 4mm, petals 5, 6mm, pale greenish to yellowish-white, stamens 8-10; FEMALE calyx 5 lobes 6-9mm, petals as for male, ovary 3-celled, style with two tips. FRUIT ovoid, 4x3cm (LxØ), ripens yellowish then dries brown and splits. SEEDS 3, black, ovoid, 20x12x9mm, surface hard and rough.

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: fieldspecimen+photo, Tupapa, 8/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Jatropha curcas. Mitiaro: fieldsight, NBSAP, 5/2001, ID GM.

References:
p.623 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.512 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.612 Hortus 3rd
p.625 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants
p.2/545 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.67 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.408f Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM04b, zD02, zupD04b

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