Gyrocarpus jatrophifolius

In 1925, Karel Domin described Gyrocarpus jatrophifolius from collections from Costa Rica. Later it was realized that plants matching the new species were referable to the concept of a very variable Gyrocarpus americanus already described in 1842 by Schlechtendal. Domin's work, on the flora of Australia, appeared in a publication not commonly available abroad. For many years many Mexican and Central American collections of Gyrocarpus jatrophifolius automatically were assumed to be Gyrocarpus americanus.^[6] This assumption was further encouraged when in 1943 Standley and Steyermark, in the Flora of Guatemala, erroneously stated that the genus Gyrocarpus was monotypic.^[4][7]

Using a chloroplast DNA matrix of 2210 aligned nucleotides, and maximum likelihood inferences, phylogenetic analysis suggests that around 31 million years ago (mya) Gyrocarpus jatrophifolius broke from -- is the sister to -- all other tested Gyrocarpus species.^[3] Around 31 mya, during the Oligocene, the earth was experiencing a period of cooling and drying.^[8]

The genus name Gyrocarpus clearly is derived from the Greek gyros, meaning "turn" (from the rotation of meat on a spit),^[9] and the Greek karp(os) meaning "fruit." Thus, a turning or spinning fruit.^[10]

The species name jatrophifolius is built upon the genus name Jatropha, species of which may produce leaves similar to those of Gyrocarpus jatrophifolius.^[4] The -folius in from the New Latin foliosus meaning "having (such or so many) leaves."^[11]

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  Gyrocarpus jatrophifolius mature fruits
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  Gyrocarpus jatrophifolius inflorescences on leafless branches
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  Gyrocarpus jatrophifolius leaves
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  Gyrocarpus jatrophifolius flowering with leaves
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  Gyrocarpus jatrophifolius 5-lobed leaf with long petiol