Spicy Jatropha Hybrid

[joe_OC]

I want to share one of my favorite non palm plants in my garden.  I first saw this plant touring a botanical garden in Kauai almost 20 years ago.  I loved how it was airy and full of these intense red flowers.  When I came back home, I searched and searched for it, but was never able to find it.  By chance, I was visiting Bud Guillot, the "Grandfather of Plumerias" - credited for bringing plumerias to NA, to tour his wonderful garden.  And there I found it.  Bud shared with me that they plant is a hybrid, and thus sterile.  He did say that it could be propagated from wood cuttings.  With all these exotic plumerias to look at, I was captivated by this plant.  Bud saw it and gave me a cutting to root out.  The plant now is close to 15 years old.  It was one of the first plants I put in the ground.  You can find the Spicy Jatropha at Monrovia, but the leaves are scalloped and grows more like a dense bush.  The flowers are also much smaller and not as showy.  There is a new hybrid out called 'Watermelon' that I want to get.  It has more of a hot pink.  

 

 

[Silas_Sancona]

3 minutes ago, joe_OC said:

I want to share one of my favorite non palm plants in my garden.  I first saw this plant touring a botanical garden in Kauai almost 20 years ago.  I loved how it was airy and full of these intense red flowers.  When I came back home, I searched and searched for it, but was never able to find it.  By chance, I was visiting Bud Guillot, the "Grandfather of Plumerias" - credited for bringing plumerias to NA, to tour his wonderful garden.  And there I found it.  Bud shared with me that they plant is a hybrid, and thus sterile.  He did say that it could be propagated from wood cuttings.  With all these exotic plumerias to look at, I was captivated by this plant.  Bud saw it and gave me a cutting to root out.  The plant now is close to 15 years old.  It was one of the first plants I put in the ground.  You can find the Spicy Jatropha at Monrovia, but the leaves are scalloped and grows more like a dense bush.  The flowers are also much smaller and not as showy.  There is a new hybrid out called 'Watermelon' that I want to get.  It has more of a hot pink.  

 

 

Interesting.. This looks like the original species itself.. and a male plant ( Good %' age of Jatropha sp. are Dioecious ) rather than a hybrid, imo. Since Bud mentions it as such, wonder if it's a much earlier cross... As you mentioned, the -often shorter/ less "flowery" hybrid is what usually offered by Monrovia and some other big growers.. and often isn't as vigorous as obtaining a clone of the species / earlier cross itself.. Like w/ Poinsettia- Ones you can find offered around X-mas generally aren't as hardy as the older types that resemble plants you'd find in habitat.

The Pink flowered cultivar is very nice, you'll like it if you can find one..  Swear i have heard of a white -flowering cultivar in passing as well.  Really want to locate a pair of Jatropha mutabilis..  Another nice, red -flowered species..

[8B palms]

Hi Joe, I posted some pics of mine blooming about 1-2 weeks ago, they are really nice and butterflies love them.  I bought one from tops tropicals Jatropha integerrima pink, I should have snapped a pic a week ago it was in full bloom, this is the only flower on it currently, it has never set seed unlike the my red one, the link below shows pictures of it, at the bottom they are on sale at $27 +S&H

https://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/JATROPHA_INTEGERRIMA.htm

 

[joe_OC]

Hey Craig,

Very cool.  I ordered one from Zone 9 Tropicals.  Mine is called ‘Watermelon Pink’.  Here’s a pic of it:

 

 

[greysrigging]

That is a nice Jatropha..... we have the awful weedy species known locally as Bellyache Bush ( Jatropha gossypiifolia ) infesting the cattle country in the Katherine and Victoria River Districts of the Northern Territory. A Declared WONS ( weed of national significance ).
https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/66737/IPA-Bellyache-Bush-PP45.pdf

[tropicbreeze]

4 hours ago, greysrigging said:

That is a nice Jatropha..... we have the awful weedy species known locally as Bellyache Bush ( Jatropha gossypiifolia ) infesting the cattle country in the Katherine and Victoria River Districts of the Northern Territory. A Declared WONS ( weed of national significance ).
https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/66737/IPA-Bellyache-Bush-PP45.pdf

The name Jatropha has been permanently poisoned in my mind after many a long day spent under a hot sun trying to eradicate the stuff. Can't ever imagine planting anything with that name attached to it, despite the pretty flower pictures. it's very difficult to destroy.

Years ago I found a fungus attacking Jatropha plants and reported it to a research group working on eradication. However, they said the fungus would also attack some commercial crops and wouldn't be a suitable control agent. So it was back to the hard slog. Oh well, it was worth a try.

[joe_OC]

53 minutes ago, tropicbreeze said:

The name Jatropha has been permanently poisoned in my mind after many a long day spent under a hot sun trying to eradicate the stuff. Can't ever imagine planting anything with that name attached to it, despite the pretty flower pictures. it's very difficult to destroy.

Years ago I found a fungus attacking Jatropha plants and reported it to a research group working on eradication. However, they said the fungus would also attack some commercial crops and wouldn't be a suitable control agent. So it was back to the hard slog. Oh well, it was worth a try.

The Jatropha genus is quite varied.  Most are not very pretty.  The integerrima species is the oddball.  

[Silas_Sancona]

33 minutes ago, joe_OC said:

The Jatropha genus is quite varied.  Most are not very pretty.  The integerrima species is the oddball.  

Guess that depends on how one interprets "attractive".. Very true that some are pretty plain Jane, others are quite distinct however.. Grow all of the native- to- the- southwest / N.W. Mexico/  Baja species except 4;  J. berlandieri,  vernicosa,  malacophylla, and J. macrorhiza.

Also hoping to add this sp. from South America: Jatropha macrocarpa.. Looks more like a Manihot or Pseudobombax, than a Jatropha..
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Figura-3-J-macocarpa-silvestre--en-la-Rioja-Figura-4-plantacion-ornamental-de_fig1_307926931

[joe_OC]

True...beauty is in the eye of the beholder.