Jatropha curcas, native to the American tropics, is a hardy plant with potential uses. It's a semi-evergreen shrub or small tree, thriving in arid regions. While it contains toxic phorbol esters, edible varieties exist in Mexico. Its seeds have high oil content (34.4%) suitable for biodiesel. Leaves vary in appearance, and the plant produces male and female flowers on the same inflorescence. Fruits are harvested from winter to late fall, and the genome was sequenced in Oct 10.