All the information and photos in cactus art files are now available also in the new the Encyclopaedia of Succulents. We hope you find this new site informative and useful.

Jatropha berlandieri is cultivated mainly for its globose caudex (or swollen trunk). With the onset of spring the caudex sprouts short branches with glaucous palmated leaves.
 

Description: Jatropha berlandieri is a perennial herb that grows from an enlarged, tuberlike woody roots (caudex) it is above ground in cultivation, although its caudex is underground in nature, dormant in winter.
Caudex:  Large globose, pastel-white up to 20 centimetres thick and 30 cm tall (or more).
Branches: Should only get 10 centimetres, but in culture seems to get more than 35 centimetres long.
Leaves: Deciduous, palm-shaped up to 10 cm long and very deeply lobed five to seven times.
Flowers: Showy, arrayed in loose clusters at the ends of long stalks bright pink to poppy-red. Each inflorescence bears individual flowers of which 3-4 female and 10-12 male each up to 12 mm wide.
Blooming time: Feb-Nov though-out the growing season (mainly in summer).
Fruits: The fruit is a green, pea-like three-lobed capsule containing three seeds.
 

(November-February) Dormant phase

(March) The new growth

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(April) Shoots begin to stretch out...

(June to August) blooms

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Scientific name:  Jatropha berlandieri Torrey 1858.

Common Name: Jatropha Buddah Belly, Baseball Plant

Synonyms:  

• Jatropha cathartica Teran & Berlandier 1832
• Adenoropium berlandieri Small 1927

Origin:  Texas, Mexico, Central America.

Habitat: Grows scattered among the brush mainly on clay soil in hot, arid regions. This is a caudiciform plant adapted to prolonged periods of drought it can store water and survive many months without rain.

This plant produces many long-lasting spikes of mall, coral-red flowers from the tips of its short stems in summer.

The fruit is a green, pea-like three-lobed capsule containing three seeds.

Cultivation: Good for pot culture it adapts well in bright windows in the home and greenhouse. Soil should be a succulent/regular plant mix and should drain well and be allowed to dry between waterings. This slow-growing plant likes sun or shade and can rot (the stems become very soft and gummy) if it is cold and damp. It go dormant during the winter and the leaves and the short branches dry out (the dry stalk must be pruned in winter)

Reproduction: Seeds/Cuttings.

All the information and photos in cactus art files are now available also in the new the Encyclopaedia of Succulents. We hope you find this new site informative and useful.