Jatropha Curcas

The physic nut tree of tropical America. This

plant contains a milky, acrid, glutinous juice, which forms a

permanent stain when dropped on linen, and which might form a good

marking ink. Burning oil is expressed from the seeds in the

Philippine Islands; the oil, boiled with oxide of iron, is used in

China as a varnish. It is used in medicine in various ways, the

leaves for fomentations, the juice in treating ulcers, and the

seeds as purgatives.