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Nutmeg Plant

Jatropha curcas

Found in disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 6%

At a glance

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 6 Florida counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

7CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Jatropha

  • Cocytius antaeusGiant Sphinx
  • Erinnyis alopeAlope Sphinx
  • Erinnyis elloEllo Sphinx
  • Herpetogramma bipunctalisSouthern Beet Webworm, Two-Spotted Herpetogramma
  • Neurobathra curcassiJatropha Leafminer Moth
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Jatropha

  • Zenaida asiaticaWhite-winged Dove
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Euphorbiaceae

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Conservation status

Florida rankSNA
Global rankNot available
FL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources