Castor-oil plant
a tall plant, Ricinus communis, of the spurge family, cultivated for its ornamental foliage and having poisonous seeds that are the source of castor oil.
Historical Examples
She was then beaten with a switch made from the castor-oil plant.
Omens and Superstitions of Southern India Edgar Thurston
The castor-oil plant is a green and succulent shoot about six feet in height, with white flowers hanging in bunches like hops.
Lippincott’s Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 15, No. 89, May, 1875 Various
The leaf of the castor-oil plant worn round the neck was believed to ward away devils, because the leaf is like an open hand.
The Mystery and Romance of Alchemy and Pharmacy Charles John Samuel Thompson
The castor-oil plant (Ricinus communis) grows wild, but it is also cultivated in many plantations.
Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests J. J. von Tschudi
We passed several fields of the castor-oil plant, and were informed, on inquiry, that they extract the oil from it.
Letters from Palestine J. D. Paxton
The castor-oil plant has been introduced, but as yet the unprofitable silk-tree and the wild bushes are far more common.
Chambers’s Edinburgh Journal, No. 428 Various
The trees of the Rubiace order, for instance, have leaves almost similar in form and size to the castor-oil plant.
In Darkest Africa, Vol. 2; or, The quest, rescue and retreat of Emin, governor of Equatoria Henry Morton Stanley
The figure is drawn on the floor with flour or rice, turmeric, charcoal powder, and leaves of the castor-oil plant.
Omens and Superstitions of Southern India Edgar Thurston
This is, if I recollect right, the castor-oil plant, and here are some of the castor-oil beans which Master Tommy has been eating.
Masterman Ready Captain Frederick Marryat
The castor-oil plant, he says, grows especially in Java, where it forms immense fields and produces a great quantity of oil.
Origin of Cultivated Plants Alphonse De Candolle
noun
a tall euphorbiaceous Indian plant, Ricinus communis, cultivated in tropical regions for ornament and for its poisonous seeds, from which castor oil is extracted Also called (US and Canadian) castor bean
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