Moringa is the sole genus in the plant family Moringaceae. It contains 13 species, which occur in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and Asia and that range in size from tiny herbs to massive trees. Moringa species grow quickly in many types of environments.
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.
Calophyllum is a genus of tropical flowering plants in the family Calophyllaceae. They are mainly distributed in Asia, with some species in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, and the Pacific Islands.
Phorbol is a natural, plant-derived organic compound. It is a member of the tigliane family of diterpenes. Phorbol was first isolated in 1934 as the hydrolysis product of croton oil, which is derived from the seeds of the purging croton, Croton tiglium. The structure of phorbol was determined in 1967. Various esters of phorbol have important biological properties, the most notable of which is the capacity to act as tumor promoters through activation of protein kinase C. They mimic diacylglycerols, glycerol derivatives in which two hydroxyl groups have reacted with fatty acids to form esters. The most common and potent phorbol ester is 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), also called phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA), which is used as a biomedical research tool in contexts such as models of carcinogenesis.
This article describes the use and availability of biodiesel in various countries around the world.
Biofuel development in India centres mainly around the cultivation and processing of Jatropha plant seeds, which are very rich in oil, ranging from 27 to 40%, and averaging 34.4%. The drivers for this are historic, functional, economic, environmental, moral and political.
Pongamia oil is derived from the seeds of the Millettia pinnata tree, which is native to tropical and temperate Asia. Millettia pinnata, also known as Pongamia pinnata or Pongamia glabra, is common throughout Asia and thus has many different names in different languages, many of which have come to be used in English to describe the seed oil derived from M. pinnata; Pongamia is often used as the generic name for the tree and is derived from the genus the tree was originally placed in. Other names for this oil include honge oil, kanuga oil, karanja oil, and pungai oil.
Codiaeum variegatum is a species of plant in the genus Codiaeum, which is a member of the family Euphorbiaceae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. It is native to Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, and the western Pacific Ocean islands, growing in open forests and scrub.
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 doc 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.
Croton eluteria, known as cascarilla, is a plant species of the genus Croton that is native to the Caribbean. It has been naturalized in other tropical regions of the Americas. It grows to be a small tree or tall shrub, rarely reaching 20 feet (6 m) in height. Its leaves are scanty, alternate, ovate-lanceolate, averaging 2 inches (5 cm) long, with close scaling below, giving a metallic silver-bronze appearance, and scattered white scales above. The flowers are small, with white petals, and very fragrant, appearing in March and April. The scented bark is fissured, pale yellowish brown, and may be covered in lichen.
Croton tiglium, known as purging croton, is a plant species in the family Euphorbiaceae.
Ximenia americana, commonly known as tallow wood, hog plum, yellow plum, sea lemon, or pi'ut (Chamorro), is bush-forming shrub/small tree; a species from the Ximenia genus in the Olacaceae family. It is mainly found in the tropics, ranging from Africa, India and southeast Asia, to Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, West Indies, Central, North and South America. It is especially common in Africa and South America. It is not domesticated so it is only found occurring in the wild.
Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of the type genus of the family. Most spurges, such as Euphorbia paralias, are herbs, but some, especially in the tropics, are shrubs or trees, such as Hevea brasiliensis. Some, such as Euphorbia canariensis, are succulent and resemble cacti because of convergent evolution. This family has a cosmopolitan global distribution. The greatest diversity of species is in the tropics; however, the Euphorbiaceae also have many species in nontropical areas of all continents except Antarctica.
SG Biofuels is a privately held bioenergy crop company, which grows and researches Jatropha curcas for the production of biodiesel, bio jet fuel, and specialty chemicals.
Croton sylvaticus is a tree in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is commonly known as the forest fever-berry. These trees are distributed in forests from the east coast of South Africa to Tropical Africa. It grows 7–13 metres (23–43 ft) in height, occasionally up to 30 metres (100 ft), in moist forests, thickets and forest edges at altitudes of 350–1,800 metres (1,100–5,900 ft).
Croton gratissimus, is a tropical African shrub or small tree with corky bark, growing to 8 m and belonging to the family of Euphorbiaceae or spurges. Young twigs are slender and angular and covered in silver and rust-coloured scales.
Jatropha dioica is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, that is native to Texas in the United States as well as Mexico as far south as Oaxaca. Common names include leatherstem and sangre de drago. The specific name refers to the dioecious nature of the plants.
Sterculia foetida is a soft wooded tree that can grow up to 35 metres tall. Common names for the plant are the bastard poon tree, Java olive tree, hazel sterculia, wild almond tree, and skunk tree.
Croton megalocarpus is a tree species in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is indigenous to ten countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique.
