Jatropha podagrica is a species of flowering, caudiciform succulent plant in the spurge family,Euphorbiaceae, aligning it closely with related genera such as Croton, Euphorbia and Ricinus (castor bean), among others.

[2][3] It is native to the neotropics of Central America and southern Mexico, but is grown as an ornamental plant in many parts of the world due to its unusual appearance and mature caudex development.

Common names for the species include gout-plant, gout-stalk, Guatemalan rhubarb, coral-plant, Buddha-belly plant, purging-nut, physic-nut, goutystalk nettlespurge, Australian bottleplant (a geographical misnomer) and tartogo.

[8] The swollen caudex, showy leaves, and colourful flowers make J. podagrica an attractive ornamental, and it is grown as an indoor plant in many parts of the world.

Several projects have sought to identify medicinally-useful compounds contained within J. podagrica,[9][10][11] with potential applications as an analgesic, aphrodisiac, antimicrobial/disinfectant, antivenin, gout treatment, intestinal parasite purge, laxative and tonic, amongst other possibilities.