Jatropha ellenbeckii seeds grow into a succulent caudiciform subshrub or shrub native to the desert and dry shrubland biome of Ethiopia, southern Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania. Named after the German explorer and collector Hans Ellenbeck, who collected natural history specimens in East Africa around the turn of the twentieth century, this member of Euphorbiaceae develops thick, fleshy, water-storing stems with the caustic white latex characteristic of the family. It is an important representative of the remarkable Euphorbiaceae flora of the Horn of Africa and East African dry zone, where the genus Jatropha reaches considerable diversity.

Full sun, very sharp drainage and a dry rest when dormant replicate the arid conditions of its East African habitat.

• Succulent fleshy stems; caustic white latex; caudiciform subshrub to shrub
• Ethiopia, S. Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania desert and dry shrubland biome
• Named after explorer Hans Ellenbeck, East African collector
• Family Euphorbiaceae; part of East Africa’s remarkable dry Euphorbiaceae flora
• Full sun; very sharp drainage; dry dormancy rest

Jatropha ellenbeckii is a genuine East African succulent caudiciform from one of the world’s most extraordinary arid floras a collector’s Euphorbiaceae from the dry zone stretching from Ethiopia and Somalia south through Kenya and Tanzania.

IMPORTANT: Pictures show the adult plant, which is not for sale. The offer is only for seeds.