return to: checklist; keys; family Euphorbiaceae
Shrub
with soft, weak, woody stems; stems and leaves with stinging hairs
(CAUTION!); leaves alternate, deeply palmately lobed, the lobes
also lobed; sessile glandular region present at the petiole-blade
junction; inflorescence cymose, axillary, held above the uppermost
leaves; flowers unisexual (plants monoecious); pistillate flowers
at the lower cyme branches opening first (protogynous), staminate
flowers on subsequent and ultimate cyme branches; flowers white;
ovary and immature fruit with longitudinal stripes; fruit an explosively
dehiscent capsule.
Additional images:
Listed, as Jatropha aconitifolia, as an important source of pollen and/or nectar for bees (Souza Novello 1981). Cnidoscolus souzae is very similar but can be distinguished by the cluster of finger-like glands at the petiole-blade junction and the larger and more numerous stinging hairs.