Canon EOS 5D
ƒ/1.4
50 mm
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400

My desktop plant is thriving on a handful of dirt. It is favored as a biofuel feedstock because it can grow on barren land with little water – perfect for the office, I figured.

Goldman Sachs recently cited Jatropha curcas as one of the best candidates for future biodiesel production. (wikipedia, excerpts)

I adopted this one from a plant lab in La Jolla.

10 responses to “Jatropha curcas”

  1. I went to a seminar about this bio fuels
    they featured tjois and some certain palm whose name escapes me right now
    The UH is currently experimenting with it (Jatropha)

    aloha..and all the best

  2. I attended the Bio-era biofuels roundtable today, and Jatropha was certainly a theme that weaved its way into almost all of the day’s discussions.

  3. I’ve also read about algal fuels, but I guess they’re more finicky about their environment.

    This Jatropha kinda looks like a Christmas tree with the poinsettia in the background!

  4. That is a humbly pretty plant.

  5. Lovely I like its leaves and shape. I would put one in my office.

  6. The Euphorbiaceae family has such a wide variety of presentations, it’s one of my favorite plant families.
    This one looks very happy on your desk!

  7. Uhm, you do know Jatropha is highly poisonous and cancerous?
    I wonder if they mentioned that in their fascinating bio fuel presentations.
    (check google scholar for details)

  8. some varieties are toxic if eaten… hence not a food crop.

    But even those are better than drinking gasoline. 😉

  9. @joell333 – first, even though your comment sounds like it was stated in jest, you did get it partially correct…some of the discussions around the presentations were fascinating (others were equally fascinating but for different reasons). second, just about anything you eat, breathe or otherwise ingest is poisonous at some level, just depends on the dose.

  10. I currently grow Jatropha and Moringa in Central Sudan and I prefer Moringa as its seeds husks are a rich source of health supplements.
    Google its properties.
    Regards
    Steve
    West Kordofan, Sudan.

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