Coral Bush
Genus: Jatropha
Botanical name: Jatropha multifida
PLANT NAME IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
Sanskrit:
Hindi:
English: Coral bush, Coral plant, Physic nut, Guatemala Rhubarb
Malayalam: Nadan Karup, Karukolpatta
MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
Coral bush is a shrub or small tree with a single trunk, a loose, spreading crown and a typical height in cultivation of 6-10 ft, although it can grow up to 20 ft tall. The very beautiful and distinctive leaves are large, growing up to 12 in wide. They are cut deeply into 7-11 narrow lobes with the margins of each lobe themselves dissected into narrow pointed segments. They are dark green above and whitish beneath. The flowers are bright coral red and borne in flat-topped clusters on long stalks held high above the foliage. Coral plant blooms on and off all year long, and especially during hot weather. Most euphorbs have a milky sap that flows from broken stems, but that of coral plant looks more like cloudy water.
Coral bush is used in folk medicine for the treatment of infection, pain, fever, various inflammatory conditions, tumor and tumor related diseases.