Ricinus communis L.

Taxonomy: Plantae > Tracheophyta > Equisetopsida > Malpighiales > Euphorbiaceae > Ricinus> R. communis

Description: Monoecious, branched glaucous shrubs. Leaves alternate, palmately 6-8-lobed, peltate, to 20 x 24 cm; lobes 9-15 x 3-6 cm, lanceolate, margin coarsely serrate, apex acuminate; petiole to 18 cm long. Flowers in terminal paniculate racemes, pale yellow; male flowers below, female ones above. Male flowers: perianth cupular, 3-5-lobed, c. 4 mm long, lanceolate; stamens many, filaments connate, repeatedly branched. Female flowers: tepals 5, subequal, c. 5 mm long, lanceolate; ovary globose, 3-locular, echinate; ovule 1-per locule; styles 3, papillose. Capsule 1.6-2 cm across, 3-lobed, prickly. Seeds oblong, smooth, marbled, carunculate.

Flowering and Fruiting : May to June

Uses: Castor oil has many uses in medicine and other applications. An alcoholic extract of the leaf was shown, in laboratory rats, to protect the liver from damage from certain poisons. Methanolic extracts of the leaves of Ricinus communis were used in antimicrobial testing against eight pathogenic bacteria in rats and showed antimicrobial properties. The pericarp of Ricinus showed central nervous system effects in mice at low doses. At high doses mice quickly died. A water extract of the root bark showed analgesic activity in rats. Antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties were found in ethanolic extract of Ricinus communis root bark. Castor oil and the plant's roots and leaves are used in the Indian Indigenous Medicinal System of Ayurveda for various diseases, and it has been investigated in a few limited studies for its potential as an anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory herbal medicine.

Cultivation: Wild and Cultivated.

References

http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org

https://indiabiodiversity.org