Castor bean plant - a photo on Flickriver

Castor bean plant

Common name: Castor bean, Castor oil plant, Wonder tree, Arandi अरंडी (Hindi), Kege (Manipuri), {Amanakku ஆமணக்கு, Vilakkennai Kottaimuttu விளக்கெண்ணை (Tamil)}, Oudla (Kannada) Veranda (Bengali), Era-gach (Assamese), Chittamankku (Malayalam), Eranda एरंड (Marathi), Aeranda ऍरंड (Konkani)

Botanical name: Ricinus communis
- [ (RISS-i-nus) so named because the seeds resemble a Mediterranean sheep tick of the same name; (KOM-yoo-nis) growing in groups (communes); ordinary ]
Family: Euphorbiaceae (castor, euphorbia, or spurge family)
- [ (yoo-for-bee-AY-see-ay) the Euphorbia family, named for Euphorbus, Greek physician to Juba II, King of Mauretania ]

Origin: Africa

The castor bean plant, an erect, tropical shrub or small tree, grows up to 30 feet tall. As an annual in the cooler zones, it grows up to 15' tall. It is a very fast growing plant. The joints of the hollow stem, stalks and leaves are reddish to purple. The 6 - 11 lobed, palmate leaves with uneven serrated edge, are also red or colored and often have a blue-gray bloom. There is also a green variety. The flat seeds are in a seedpod that explodes when ripen.

All the top of the stem and stalks are the inflorescence with the male - and female flowers. The female flowers are the fuzzy red structures at the top of the flower spike with the male flowers positioned on the lower half, and have conspicuous yellow anthers. The oblong fruit turns brown when ripe. In each seed pod (a capsule) there are three seeds. The seeds of castor bean or castor oil plant, are very poisonous to people, animals and insects; just one milligram of ricin (one of the main toxic proteins in the plant) can kill an adult. The castor oil is extracted from the beans, which is used for medicinal purposes. Commercially prepared castor oil contains none of the toxin.

Medicinal uses: In Manipur, leaves are warmed, crushed and applied to anus as a remedy for bleeding piles. Seed oil is purgative. Leaf-paste is used as poultice on sores, gout or rheumatic swellings. Decoction of root is given in lumbago. For lactation, leaves of the plant are heated and applied to a woman's breasts to improve secretion of milk.

Courtesy:
- Flowers of India
- Top Tropicals
- Dave's Garden
- A Dictionary, Marathi and English

Note: Identification attempted; may not be accurate.

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Taken in: India / Maharashtra / Thane (show map)

Taken on: January 28, 2007

Tags:

flora

Euphorbiaceae

euphorbia family

spurge family

Ricininae

Ricinus

Annuals

Tropicals

Tender

Perennials

Ricinus communis

aeranda

amanakku

arandi

bele ni vavalagi

bhoba

bhobha

caster oil plant

castor-oil-tree

castor bean

castor oil-plant

chittamankku

era-gach

eranda

erandamula

erandela

erandi

godaeranda

gullo

higuera infernal

hirava eranda

kasterolieboom

kege

kobo

krapata

lama papalagi

malaeranda

mohlafotha

mokhura

mole bean

mufuta

oudla

palma christi

ricin

sheteranda

surati eranda

tadakierandi

tambada eranda

umfude

umhlakuva

veranda

vilakkennai kottaimuttu

wonder tree

अरंडी

ஆமணக்கு

விளக்கெண்ணை

एरंड

एरंडमूळ

एरंडेल

गोडाएरंड

तांबडा एरंड

मळाएरंड

शेतएरंड

मोठा एरंड

बारीक एरंड

सुरती एरंड

हिरवा एरंड

ऍरंड « less

Sets appears in: • Vaghbil

Groups appears in: • Botany • Plant Taxonomy more » • Flowers of India • Euphorbia « less

Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ7, f/3.3, 1/30 sec, 25.7mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Panasonic DMC-FZ7
Aperture:	f/3.3
Exposure Time:	0.033 sec (1/30)
Focal Length:	25.7mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Contrast:	High
Saturation:	High
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Ver.1.0
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