Jatropha rivae

Jatropha rivae is a species of flowering plant native to the deserts and dry shrublands of Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Tanzania. It is a densely-branched shrub that grows up to 2 meters tall, with purple-brown young twigs. It is found in Acacia-Commiphora bushland, growing in deep sands and alluvial soils left behind by flowing water. It also grows in gypsaceous soils and on limestone, and it is distributed across a wide range of altitudes, from sea level up to 1150 meters high.



Taxonomy
Jatropha rivae is in the genus Jatropha and the family Euphorbiaceae. It has subspecies parvifolia, quercifolia, and rivae. It was named in Annuario Reale Ist. Bot. Roma 6: 185 in 1896 by Ferdinand Albin Pax.