|
''Jatropha curcas'' is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, that is native to the American tropics, most likely Mexico and Central America. It is cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions around the world, becoming naturalized in some areas. The specific epithet, ''"curcas"'', was first used by Portuguese doctor Garcia de Orta more than 400 years ago and is of uncertain origin. Common names include Barbados nut, purging nut, physic nut, or JCL (abbreviation of ''Jatropha curcas'' Linnaeus). ''J. curcas'' is a poisonous, semi-evergreen shrub or small tree, reaching a height of .〔 It is resistant to a high degree of aridity, allowing it to be grown in deserts.〔(JATROPHA IN AFRICA. FIGHTING THE DESERT & CREATING WEALTH )〕〔(Jatropha: creating desert solutions )〕 The seeds contain 27-40% oil〔Achten WMJ, Mathijs E, Verchot L, Singh VP, Aerts R, Muys B 2007. Jatropha biodiesel fueling sustainability?. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining 1(4), 283-291.( ) (The Jatropha Archives )〕 (average: 34.4%〔Achten WMJ, Verchot L, Franken YJ, Mathijs E, Singh VP, Aerts R, Muys B 2008. Jatropha bio-diesel production and use. (a literature review) Biomass and Bioenergy 32(12), 1063–1084.( ) (The Jatropha Archives )〕) that can be processed to produce a high-quality biodiesel fuel, usable in a standard diesel engine. The seeds are also a source of the highly poisonous toxalbumin curcin or jatrophin.〔http://www.drugsandpoisons.com/2008/01/lectins-peas-and-beans-gone-bad.html〕 ==Botanical features== * Leaves: The leaves have significant variability in their morphology. In general, the leaves are green to pale green, alternate to subopposite, and three- to five-lobed with a spiral phyllotaxis.〔 * Flowers: male and female flowers are produced on the same inflorescence, averaging 20 male flowers to each female flower,〔 or 10 male flowers to each female flower.〔 The petiole length ranges from 6.1–23.1 mm. The inflorescence can be formed in the leaf axil. Plants are monoecious and also presents hermaphroditic flowers occasionally.〔 * Fruits : fruits are produced in winter, or there may be several crops during the year if soil moisture is good and temperatures are sufficiently high. Most fruit production is concentrated from midsummer to late fall with variations in production peaks where some plants have two or three harvests and some produce continuously through the season.〔 * Seeds: the seeds are mature when the capsule changes from green to yellow. The seeds contain around 20% saturated fatty acids and 80% unsaturated fatty acids, and they yield 25%–40% oil by weight. In addition, the seeds contain other chemical compounds, such as saccharose, raffinose, stachyose, glucose, fructose, galactose, and protein. The oil is largely made up of oleic and linoleic acids. Furthermore, the plant also contains curcasin, arachidic, myristic, palmitic, and stearic acids and curcin.〔 * Genome: the whole genome was sequenced by ''Kazusa DNA Research Institute'', Chiba Japan in October 2010. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jatropha curcas」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|