Ricinus
| Ricinus | |
|---|---|
| Leaves and inflorescence (male flowers below female flowers) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Euphorbiaceae |
| Subfamily: | Acalyphoideae |
| Tribe: | Acalypheae |
| Subtribe: | |
| Genus: | L. |
| Species: | R. communis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Ricinus communis L.
| |
Ricinus communis, the castor bean[1] or castor oil plant,[2] is a species of perennial flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus, Ricinus, and subtribe, Ricininae.
Its seed is the castor bean, which despite the term is not a bean (as it is not the seed of a member of the family Fabaceae). Castor is indigenous to the southeastern Mediterranean Basin, East Africa, and India, but is widespread throughout tropical regions (and widely grown elsewhere as an ornamental plant).
Castor seed is the source of castor oil, which has a wide variety of uses. The seeds contain between 40% and 60% oil that is rich in triglycerides, mainly ricinolein. The seed also contains ricin, a highly potent water-soluble toxin.
- ^ NRCS. "Ricinus communis". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- ^ "Ricinus communis: Castor oil plant". Oxford University Herbaria. Dept. of Plant Sciences, Oxford.
The castor oil plant is one of the few major crops to have an origin in Africa.