Jatropha - A New Miracle Plant?

Jatropha is a group of plants belonging to the wood spurges. The name, derived from the Greek words for doctor (iatros) and nutrition (trophe) already hints at those plants' many uses. Native to Central America, it has been used for medicines.

Plants of the Jatropha family are evergreen or deciduous and have thick roots. Twigs and leaves are usually pubescent, but the hairs don't burn. The fruits are capsules with three chambers. Almost all of the Jatropha plants are toxic, some of them highly so: The seeds can be fatal to humans, although when roasted, they loose some of their toxins.

So what is special about the Jatropha plants, so special that it is called the Miracle Plant by some?

This refers to the seeds of the "Jatropha curcas" plant, also called physic nut or purging nut. The plant is modest in its requirements and can survive even in barren savannahs. There is over 30% of oil in the seeds, which is extremely high for such an undemanding plant. The cetane number of the oil is 60, and here is the key: Canola, the world's currently most used source of biodiesel fuels, has only a cetane number of 54, Jatropha seeds promise to be even more promising for technical uses.

It can be intercropped with other commercial crops (such as coffee or sugar), and thus promises to be an interesting source of income for some of the poorer countries. Already plantations and biodiesel plants are located in India, Indonesia, China and Brazil; several African countries are getting started. Test flights have been a success. In 2009, the Time Magazine called it The Next Biofuel, estimating a potential for 1,600 gallons of diesel fuel per acre per year. This is like a wake up call for a world desperately looking for renewable resources.

Klaus-Martin Meyer is the founder of the leading German speaking website about renewable resources and owner of http://www.jatropha.com

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