Jatropha podagrica

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Photographs by: Dr. Maulik Gadani

Botanical Name : Jatropha podagrica Hook.
Common Name : Australian Bottle Plant, Gouty Stemmed Jatropha, Buddha Belly Plant
Common Name Details :
It is called 'Buddha Belly Plant' because if the foilage is kept pruned it enlarges the trunk.
Plant Family : Euphorbiaceae
Plant Form : Shrub
Occurrence (Special Areas) : Indroda Park

Habit : A small shrub with the base of the stem greatly swollen.
Leaves : Peltate, large, 3-5 lobed, smooth, on very long petioles stipules deeply cut.
Flowers :
- Flowers on long peduncle, unisexual, calyx cup-shaped, 5-lobed, petals 5, orange red, stamens 6-8, filaments red, disk yellow, glands 5, yellow.
- Ovary seated on a disk with 5 glands, style short, divided into several green stigmas.
Fruits : Capsule green, 3 celled.
Flowering and Fruiting Time : August-October
Significance : It is an attractive ornamental plant.