The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. It uses a set of precise criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of species and subspecies. These criteria are relevant to all species and all regions of the world. With its strong scientific base, the IUCN Red List is recognized as the most authoritative guide to the status of biological diversity. A series of Regional Red Lists are produced by countries or organizations, which assess the risk of extinction to species within a political management unit.
Jatropha is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. The name is derived from the Greek words ἰατρός (iatros), meaning "physician", and τροφή (trophe), meaning "nutrition", hence the common name physic nut. Another common name is nettlespurge. It contains approximately 170 species of succulent plants, shrubs and trees. Most of these are native to the Americas, with 66 species found in the Old World. Plants produce separate male and female flowers. As with many members of the family Euphorbiaceae, Jatropha contains compounds that are highly toxic. Jatropha species have traditionally been used in basketmaking, tanning and dye production. In the 2000s, one species, Jatropha curcas, generated interest as an oil crop for biodiesel production and also medicinal importance when used as lamp oil; native Mexicans in the Veracruz area developed by selective breeding a Jatropha curcas variant lacking the toxic compounds, yielding a better income when used as source for biodiesel, because of its edible byproduct. Toxicity may return if edible Jatropha is pollinated by toxic types.
Croton is an extensive flowering plant genus in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. The plants of this genus were described and introduced to Europeans by Georg Eberhard Rumphius. The common names for this genus are rushfoil and croton, but the latter also refers to Codiaeum variegatum. The generic name comes from the Greek κρότος, which means "tick" and refers to the shape of the seeds of certain species.
Agave attenuata is a species of agave commonly known as the Foxtail, Lion's tail or Swan's NeckAgave for its development of a curved inflorescence, unusual among agaves. Native to the plateaus of central west Mexico, as one of the unarmed agaves, it is popular as an ornamental plant in gardens in many other places with subtropical and warm climates.
Biofuel development in India centres mainly around the cultivation and processing of Jatropha plant seeds which are very rich in oil (40%). The drivers for this are historic, functional, economic, environmental, moral and political. Jatropha oil has been used in India for several decades as biodiesel for the diesel fuel requirements of remote rural and forest communities; jatropha oil can be used directly after extraction in diesel generators and engines. Jatropha has the potential to provide economic benefits at the local level since under suitable management it has the potential to grow in dry marginal non-agricultural lands, thereby allowing villagers and farmers to leverage non-farm land for income generation. As well, increased Jatropha oil production delivers economic benefits to India on the macroeconomic or national level as it reduces the nation's fossil fuel import bill for diesel production ; minimising the expenditure of India's foreign-currency reserves for fuel allowing India to increase its growing foreign currency reserves. And since Jatropha oil is carbon-neutral, large-scale production will improve the country's carbon emissions profile. Finally, since no food producing farmland is required for producing this biofuel, it is considered the most politically and morally acceptable choice among India's current biofuel options; it has no known negative impact on the production of the massive amounts grains and other vital agriculture goods India produces to meet the food requirements of its massive population. Other biofuels which displace food crops from viable agricultural land such as corn ethanol or palm biodiesel have caused serious price increases for basic food grains and edible oils in other countries.
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 originally native to the tropical areas of the Americas from Mexico to Argentina, and has been spread throughout the world in tropical and subtropical regions around the world, becoming naturalized or invasive in many areas. The specific epithet, "curcas", was first used by Portuguese doctor Garcia de Orta more than 400 years ago. Common names in English include physic nut, Barbados nut, poison nut, bubble bush or purging nut. In parts of Africa and areas in Asia such as India it is often known as "castor oil plant" or "hedge castor oil plant", but it is not the same as the usual castor oil plant, Ricinus communis.
Eva's desert mouse is a species of rodent in the genus Peromyscus of the family Cricetidae found only in the Baja California peninsula of Mexico.
The San José brush rabbit is a critically endangered subspecies of the brush rabbit, in the family Leporidae.
Jatropha bullockii is a species of plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is endemic to Mexico.
Jatropha nudicaulis is a species of plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
Jatropha unicostata is a species of plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is endemic to Socotra island Yemen. Its name in Soqotri is "sibru". Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.
Jatropha integerrima, commonly known as peregrina or spicy jatropha, is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, that is native to Cuba and Hispaniola.
Stomphastis thraustica is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It is known from Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Central African Republic, Ghana, Nigeria, Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Madagascar, Malaysia, Indonesia and India. It was recently also recorded from China.
Jatropha costaricensis is a rare species of flowering plant in the euphorb family known by the common name Costa Rican jatropha. It is endemic to Costa Rica.
Cissus subaphylla is a low shrub in the grape family Vitaceae. It is endemic to the Yemeni island of Socotra. The plant grows mainly in dry, low-lying areas on alluvial fans or on limestone slopes, and is rarely found above elevations of 300 metres (980 ft), where it is replaced by C. hamaderohensis. It does not have the climbing habit of other Cissus species, and its stems are flattened and gray-green in colour, with relatively small leaves and flowers. The tangled mats of C. subaphylla stems act as a protective covering for plants regularly eaten by goats and other browsing animals; the plant is thus important in the rehabilitation of species such as Dendrosicyos, Maerua and Commiphora.
Jatropha gossypiifolia, commonly known as bellyache bush, black physicnut or cotton-leaf physicnut, is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. The species is native to Mexico,Philippines,South America, Gujarat State (India) and the Caribbean islands. It is a declared noxious weed in Puerto Rico and is naturalised in northern Australia, including Queensland where it is listed as a Class 2 declared pest plant. It grows to 2.5–4 m (8.2–13.1 ft) high. The three lobed leaves are purple and sticky when young and become bright green with age. The small red flowers with yellow centres appear in clusters. These are followed by cherry-sized seed pods that are poisonous. Powdery mildew fungal disease was reported.
Grevillea molyneuxii, commonly known as the Wingello grevillea, is a shrub which is endemic to the shrublands of New South Wales in Australia.
Manihot pentaphylla is a crotonoid species in the spurge family. It has the synonyms Jatropha pentaphylla and Manihot uleana. M. pentaphylla contains the subspecies M. pentaphylla pentaphylla and M. pentaphylla graminifolia, both of which are on the IUCN Red List. The species was first described by H.S. Irwin et al. based on a specimen found in Goiás, Brazil.
Jatropha multifida, called coral plant, coralbush, and physic nut, is a species of Jatropha native to Mexico and the Caribbean. A garden plant, it has been introduced to Florida, and to many places in South America, Africa, the Indian subcontinent, China and Southeast Asia. Mildly toxic, consumption causes gastrointestinal distress.
Jatropha elliptica is a species of flowering plant, a shrub in the family Euphorbiaceae.
