594 



in 1912, value 76,788,822 Reis (Cons, Eep. Ann. No. 5284, 1914 

 p. 7). One thousand pounds of seeds give 640 lb. of kernels, 

 which by expression yield 260 lb. of oil (Spon's Encycl. p. 1410). 

 The oil is used in the manufacture of soap and candles ; medici- 

 nally in ]^ndia (Watt, Comm. Prod. India, p. 699). The seeds " in 

 Kontagora are crushed and boiled, mixed with guinea corn pap 

 .and taken as a remedy for ascites, probably acting by causing 

 diarrhoea '* (Dalziel, Bull. Imp. Inst. 1907, p. 263) ; they are 

 used in Golungo Alto as a purgative medicine (Hiern, Cat. 

 Welw, Afr. PI. iv. p. 968) and on the Gambia for the same 

 purpose, prepared for use by roasting in wood-ashes for about 

 10 minutes (Bull. Imp. Inst, ii. 1904, p. 170). The cake left 

 after expression of the oil is not suitable for feeding cattle — - 

 a note on some cases of poisoning in Germany is given in the 

 Journal of the Board of Agriculture, .Oct. 1913, p. 616), the juice 

 t)f the tree, '^ when dried in the sun forms a reddish-brown brittle 

 Substance like shellac or kino, and is said to dve linen black" 

 (Watt, I.e. p. 699). Cultivated for the purgative oil from the 

 seeds by the natives of Shupanga, Tette, E. Africa (Kirk, Herb. 

 Kew), and in Sao Vincente, Cape de Verde (MacGilHvray, No. 132, 

 July 1852— Voy, of;H.M,S. *' HeraW), grows wild in these 

 islands especially in St. Jago and Fogo and the Government has 

 from tirae to time made large plantations of it (Cons. Kep. Ann. 

 ^No. 5063, 1913, p. 4), as a hedge plant in and around villages, 

 Yoruba (Foster,. Nig. Trees ■& PI. p. 60) and commonly used 

 everywhere for the same purpose. Grown in Madagascar as 

 supports for "Vanilla" {Vanilla planifolia] q.v. p. 653) usually 

 "I or IJ metres apart in rows distant about 2 metres from one 

 another (Perf. & Ess. Oil Rec. May 1914, p. 152). 



A shrub or tree 10-20 ft. high or stands cutting or lopping to 

 any height, easily propagated by cuttings, ix. tropical cuttings, 

 3-6 ft. pieces, and to use a common expression, grows like a weed. 



Bef, — The illustrated works mentioned above and '' Jatropha 

 Curcas,'^ in Pharmacographia Indica, Dymock, Warden & 



Hooper, iii. pp. 274^277 (Trubner & Co. London, 1893). 



Seeds of Jatropha Curcas (Purging Nut) from Lagos," in Bul^» 

 tmp. Inst. 1904, pp. 170-171.^— ^' Purging Nuts/' in Col. Eep. 

 Misc. No. 88, 1914, pp. 470-471, -with, analyses — from Lagos. 



Seeds of Jatropha Curcas from Lagos," in Notes on 



tt 



a 



Nigerian Trees & Plants, Foster, pp. 60-61, including analyses.^ 



Jatropha gossypifolia, Linn.; Fl. Trop. Afr. VI. Sect. 1, 

 p. 783. 



Ill.^J&cq. Ic. PI. Rar.Jii. t. 263; Lodd. Bot. Cab. t. 117; 

 Martius, Fl. Bras. xii. pt. 2, t. 69, f. 2; Talbot, For. Fl. Bombay, 

 ii. p. 468, f. 503. 



Vemac. names .—Jjohotuje pupa (Lagos, MacGregor, Phillips, 

 Dawodu); Olobontije-pipa (Oloke-Meji, Foster). 



Lagos, Yoruba and generally in West Africa, from Senegal 

 to Nigeria and widely distributed in the Tropics. 



