Castor Bean Plant - Good Plant with a Bad Rep
Thursday April 10, 2008
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One thing that bothers me about prohibiting plants is how misinformed people are about their properties. Another is how selective the bans are. For example, in some places it is illegal to buy the alcoholic beverage absinthe, which contains the chemical compound thujone. The wormwood plant from which the thujone is derived is illegal in some places. However, vermouth is another alcoholic beverage flavored with the same plant, yet it never came under fire, nor have the culinary herbs thyme and tarragon, which both contain thujone.
Another plant with a bad reputation is the castor bean plant, Ricinus communis. This plant has had economic importance pretty much since the dawn of civilized time, yet because it can be used to prepare a toxin (ricin), there are people who think it should be made illegal (and in some places it is). The honest truth is, many common garden plants are toxic or have pharmacological properties. If we were to prohibit every plant that could poison you, your spring garden would be devoid of daffodils, rhododendrons, wisteria, jasmine, lantana, azaleas, crocuses, hyacinths, foxglove... you get the picture... many plants.
Today's photo is a castor bean seedling, which is desirable in my garden for a few reasons. It grows very quickly, reaching up to 15' in height by the end of summer if I take good care of it. The leaves are attractive and unusual. It contains alkaloids that deter most garden pests, plus if it is strategically planted, helps to protect the rest of my garden from pests. Could eating it kill me, my kids, or my pets? That's highly unlikely. It turns out it's difficult for people to poison themselves with castor beans even if they try. Wisteria, in contrast, is in no danger of being banned (that I know of), yet has been known to poison children.
Ricin & RCA Toxins | Natural Mosquito Repellents
Photo: The castor bean plant can be a beautiful, trouble-free addition to your garden. (Anne Helmenstine)
Comments
If castor bean plants, which contain ricin, are not much of a threat, as you say, then why do you author an article about ricin itself that seems to say the opposite?
I was originally trying to determine if this plant in my garden was a papaya, but it looks as though it is definitely a castor bean. I doubt I will let it grow, since I have two small children.
Nathan,
Many flowering garden plants are toxic. I have kids and pets, yet I still have rhododendrons and daffodils in my garden. Why? Because they are beautiful and pest-free (largely thanks to their natural toxins). They don’t pose a threat to the family.
Biting into a castor plant isn’t a lethal experience; neither is swallowing a castor bean. Ricin is a purified poison, not the plant itself.
Let me put it another way. Aflatoxin is another potent poison. You can get it from strawberries, peanut butter, and black pepper (actually from the molds that grow on these foods). Do I let me kids eat strawberries? Yes.
My yard is plagued with moles/voles but I don’t want to use chemicals as I have a new puppy. The underground spikes are kind of expensive. My neighbor told me to plant a Castor plant as they keep away moles. Is this true? Are they safe if my puppy munched on a leaf/stem?
I have been trying for some time to promote the Castor Plant as a viable means of generating income for low tech agriculture in otherwise unfarmable regions. I believe that the “James Bond-y aura” promoted for Ricin are daft. Ricin stays in the seed cake it is not present in the oil. Ricin is killed by steam and so cake could be detoxifoied and used as an amimal feed if needed – it makes a good fertilsaer otherwise.
The plant is reasonably drought resistant and grows (around here – South Africa) as aweed. It is bug and mould resistant and so is environmentally beneficial. I belive that it is growen as a hedge in south America as an insect deterrant. The leaves and seeds are not bothered by local livestock (goats). The plant offers a very valuble oil source allowing plastic (nylon) to be produced from a renewable source (carbon fixer). Oil used in industry for many products – has a premium price. Is a potential source of Bio-diesel (price permitting). Leaves can be dried and used a biofriendly bug reppelant. Stalks have a long fibre and make excellent paper. It is a reennial and so the roots just go on. I have not yet established a use for the smell.
i dont think u understand how poisonous this plant is. 3 beans kill a child, 6 beans kill an adult. The bean itself is 50% oil 3% ricin. 70 mg of ricin will kill you.
If you have kids dont plant this.
assuming that your children will open those pods, i know that my children hate those pods! they are “too pokey!! why do you plant them mommy!!!???” so why do you think your children even would eat them? i always let my kids know that these {what ever they are} will hurt them and let them feel the pods. they never touch the pods again. of course when they touch the pods they are dry and do poke a bit. but they will always remember not to touch and they will always know!
Castor beans killed my dog. She chewed on some seeds (I don’t know how many) and began throwing up several hours later. After apparently getting better, the next day there was more throwing up, lack of appetite and lethargy. Excess urination followed, and two days later, death from organ failure.
These plants are poisonous.