Common Name: Castorbean Plant
Family: Spurge Family
Genus & Species: Ricinus Communis
Family Characteristics: The spurge family is a group of dicotyladonous herbs, shrubs, and trees, some of which are fleshy and have a milky juice. The family includes the spurge, cotton, cassava, castor-oil plant, and candlenut.
Identifying Traits of the Species: This stout and robust plant has reddish stems that reach up to 12 feet tall in height.
Type of Habitat: It lives in Asia which is a wet habitat.
Average Plant Size: In the U.S.A. it reaches 10 feet tall.
In the tropics it will be a small tree.
Type of Flower and Fruit: Woolly clusters of red and green flowers.
Season in which the Plant Flowers: Summer
Special Importance to Man or Animal: Shielding eyesores or providing temporary screens in the garden. The flowers are used in floral arrangements and the spiny seedpods are used in dried arrangements. Some people have skin reactions to the foliage and seedpods.
Research References:
1.Treasury of Gardening
2.The Ultimate American Gardening Book
3.Internet web-site www.purdue.edu/depts/addl/toxic/plant11.html
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