Castor bean has an impressive look but the whole plant is toxic. It's considered the most dangerous and most poisonous plant in the world. Castor oil is safe, and used for medicinal purposes. Despite having bean in it's name, castor bean isn't a true bean. The poison ricin is made from this plant, which can lead to death. The belief in magickal plants has castor bean used for protection, absorbing evil, stopping evil eye and negativity.
Photo by @krnel
It's also commonly called castor oil, palm of Christ, or Palma Christi. The scientific botanical name is Ricinus communis. Other names include African Coffee Tree, Arandi, Bi Ma Zi, Bofareira, Castorbean, Castor Bean Plant, Castor Oil Plant, Castor Seed, Erand, Eranda, Gandharva Hasta, Graine de Ricin, Huile de Ricin, Huile de Ricin Végétale, Mexico Weed, Palma Christi, Ricin, Ricin Commun, Ricin Sanguin, Ricine, Ricino, Ricinus sanguines, Tangantangan Oil Plant, Wonder Tree.
Photo by @krnel
Photo by @krnel
Key Points
- popular medicinal use for the castor oil
- most dangerous and poisonous plant according to Guinness Book of records
- magic believers use it to stop evil
- not edible apart from castor oil
History
Ricinus is Latin and means tick. The seed has marking and a bump at the end that resembles a tick. The name of castor probably comes from it's replacement for the perfume castoreum made from died perineal glands of the beaver (castor in Latin).
Castor seeds have been found in Egyptian tombs dated to 4,000 BC. Castor oil has long been used to fuel lamps as a slow burning oil. Herodotus noted it's use also for improving hair growth and texture. The Ebers Papyrus, dated to 1552 BC, is an ancient Egyptian medical treatise that described castor oil as a laxative.
It's been used in India since at least 2,000 BC as a laxative, purgative and cathartic, and is considered the king of medicinals for curing arthritic disease in Traditional Ayurvedic medicine.
Pliny the Elder described the use of leaves by the ancient Romans:
"The leaves are applied topically with vinegar for erysipelas, and fresh-gathered, they are used by themselves for diseases of the mamillæ [breasts] and de- fluxions; a decoction of them in wine, with polenta and saffron, is good for inflammations of various kinds. Boiled by themselves, and applied to the face for three successive days, they improve the complexion."
Where is it found?
Indigenous to Mediterranean Basin, Eastern Africa, and India, and widespread in tropical regions. It's planted as an ornamental in many other regions, and has been naturalized into Europe and North America.
What's it used for?
Seeds contain 35-55% of an edible oil, castor oil, that can be used in cooking. The poisonous ricin is water soluble and doesn't stay in the oil. The oil is made by pressing the ripe seed with outer covering removed. The hulls contain ricin.
Castor seeds are used for birth control, constipation, leprosy, and syphilis. Castor oil is used as a laxative for constipation, to start labor in pregnancy, and to start the flow of breast milk. It has anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and antioxidant properties.
Applied to the skin, the oil is used as a poultice for inflammatory skin disorders, boils, carbuncles, pockets of infection (abscesses), inflammation of the middle ear, and migraine headaches. Also to to soften skin, bunions and corns; and to dissolve cysts, growths, warts and osteoarthritis. Some women have put it inside the vagina for birth control or to cause abortion. Applied to the eyes it soothes membranes irritated by dust or other materials.
Castor oil is used in manufacturing to make paint, varnishes and lubricating oils.
It's a powerful chemical agent of warfare, with the smaller particles being more dangerous and can be breathed in to kill.
Are there any risks?
Castor oil can cause stomach discomfort, cramping, nausea, and faintness. Eye drops are safe for up to 30 days (longer is unknown). Long term use of castor oil might be unsafe, as it might cause fluid and potassium loss from the body when used for more than a week in doses larger than 15-60ml per day.
Whole seeds, with the hull, are unsafe. Initially it can cause nausea; vomiting; diarrhea; abdominal pain; dehydration; shock; blood cell destruction; severe fluid and chemical disturbances; liver, kidney, and pancreas damage, and eventually death. ALl it takes is 1-6 seeds chewed to result in death.
Children should be limited in the amount of castor oil taken, 1-15ml per day. Pregnant women should avoid use, as it can force labor early.
References:
Previous posts on Getting to Know Herbs:
Agrimony | Tansy | Absinthe or Wormwood | Nettle | Peppermint | Dandelion | Feverfew | Lemon Balm | Hawthorn | Chickweed | Northern Bayberry | Lady's Mantle | Hyssop | Burdock | Catnip | Lavender | Yarrow | Marshmallow | Skullcap | Codonopsis (Poor Man's Ginseng) | Schisandra | Rhodiola | Canadian Goldenrod | German Chamomile | Blue Vervain | Blessed or Holy Thistle | Common Horehound | Cayenne | Ashwagandha | Gotu Kola | Common Verbana/Vervain | Holy Basil | Sweet Annie | Globe Artichoke | Butterfly Weed / Pleurisy Root | Joe-Pye Weed / Gravel Root | Valerian | Malva/Mallow | Boneset | Elecampane | Lungwort | Cramp Bark | Motherwort | Common Plantain | Eleuthero (Siberian ginseng) | Black Cohosh | Common Bearberry | Mahonia Mountain Grape (Oregon Grape) | Blue Cohosh | Goldenseal
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Very interestimg post, i know ricin and castor oil because our soldiers during the fascism use it as a torture method durin the war interview, it' can be really risky and painful if you ingest it. By the way i was attracted from this post because i see you are into Herbs, could you suggest me some herbs for healing my sore troath? =) I heard malva it's good but i still have not try it.
Without knowing the cause of your sore throat, there are a couple of posts he did that may offer some relief.
https://steemit.com/gardening/@krnel/getting-to-know-herbs-malva-mallow
https://steemit.com/gardening/@krnel/getting-to-know-herbs-goldenseal
https://steemit.com/gardening/@krnel/getting-to-know-herbs-elecampane
I also swear by oregano oil. I use a brand called oreganol, putting 4-6 drops in capsules you can buy at health food stores.
Regarding the posts I've made, look intoagrimony, peppermint, black elder, northern bayberry, lady's mantle, hyssio, goldenrod, cayenne, verbana/vervain, bitter dock, malva mallow, elecampane, black cohosh, oregon grape, blue cohosh.
But as @practicalthought has said, oregano oil is probably good ;)
Mussolini loved to feed people castor-oil... 🤢 Bastard...
For your sore troath:
Get some White Sage (they sell it as "smudge sticks" in hippie-stores).
Put a handful of leaves in a pot of boiling water, add a spoon of sea salt.
Let it boil on medium heat for about 1 hour.
Use the concentrated "tea" to gurgle, do this a few times and you will feel much better.
Good luck!
/FF
great info!
castor oil was my topic of discovering not so long ago.
I was surrised it's a very popular method of body cleaning.
Moreover, it's not just a modern trend. It was widely used centures ago!
People understood that all diseases came from toxins in our bodies, so they used it to clean themselves and let our immunity work better.
Have you heard about it?
I've heard about it used to clean the skin, but not for detox. I think fruit and green veggies are good for that :)
Anything that mentions the ancient Egyptians is always of interest to me. I was researching the oils they’d have in tombs awhile ago. Anyway, I’m really enjoying your herb series. :)
I’ll certainly remind the next negative soul they need to take a spoonful of castor oil. But it can be used in large scale chemical warfare?! To kill off all the negative people?! Right, bad humour, so ignore me. :/
Glad yo're enjoying it. Not the castor oil, but the seed hull, is the killer ;)
Pretty cool, I see these plants all over the place but had no idea these were castor! Thanks
Really? Where have you seen them?
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Do you know that castor oil is also good for mouth ulcer? I only found it out few years ago. I get ulcer almost every month. Any small bite on the inner cheek can develop into a painful ulcer that won't go away on its own (my GP said it would but no it didn't). Every time I see an ulcer is appearing, I would gently dab very little amount of castor oil on the ulcer using my finger. I do this once or twice daily. In two or three days, the ulcer will be gone. If it's a big ulcer, I would dab it as often as possible every day (especially when it feels like burning in my mouth). In three or four days, it will be gone.
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Since I was working in the organic seed business for a bit, I know that vendors that sell these seeds usually have to report bulk orders to the secret service, these are some very dangerous beans mr @krnel...
But the plant looks pretty cool, thanks for sharing!
Cheerios!
/FF