Botanical Description
Peregrina (Jatropha integerrima) also known as the Shanghai Beauty is a small tree that grows only up to 4.5 meters in height with obovate or oblong shaped leaves, each leaf is simple but can have 1 or 3 lobes, the leaves are arranged in an alternating phyllotaxy. The flowers are monoecious and a striking red in color borne on a cymose inflorescence. The female flowers eventually give way to an oval capsule.
Uses:
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Multiple parts of the plants are poisonous.
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The seeds are toxic and the sap can cause irritation when it makes contact with the skin. However, these toxic properties also lead to it being used in traditional medicine as a laxative and to induce vomiting.
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The secondary metabolite primarily associated with the toxicity of this plant and other sister species, curcin, can induce cell death and is being researched for potential uses as a cancer treatment.