RUBBER PLANT or LIMBER BUSH (Jatropha dioica)

Limber bush is locally common on dry, frost-free slopes in the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts. It forms colonies of very flexible, reddish-brown stems which arise from underground runners. For most of the year it is leafless, but it produces small, ovate leaves in response to summer rains. In this image, rubber bush is growing on an area of desert pavement (where the soil surface is covered with flat stones) near to the Rio Grande river. Lechuguilla is seen in the foreground.

Rubber plant is a member of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). It has succulent stems and exudes a milky sap when damaged.

Flowers of limberbush are borne on short branches that arise from the main stems

The fruits of limberbush are typical of the family Euphorbiaceae. There are three ridges on the fruit, one of which is seen on the right side of the fruit in this image. [Note that the green-purple coloured stems in this image do not belong to limberbush but are stems of a pencil cholla (with spines) growing in the shade of the limberbush plant.]

Fruit broken open to reveal the white flesh-covered seed

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