Ricinus communis

Posted by MadScientist (Düsseldorf, Germany) on 13 August 2008 in Plant & Nature.

Ricinus communis, also known as the castor oil plant belongs to the big Euphorbiaceae family. A very beautiful plant that has been cultivated for a long time, usually for medical purposes. It contains Ricin, a very potent toxin, what makes this colourful plant even more interesting. Available at many nurseries!

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Comments (8)

Michael Skorulski from Cigel, Slovakia

A beautiful composition and a rich merging of colors, MS.

13 Aug 2008 10:55am

@Michael Skorulski: They had many very colourful beds with plenty of flowers there, especially Dahlias.

Amir from Tehran, Iran

nice image with nice colors.this is a refresher photo.
well done.

13 Aug 2008 11:25am

@Amir: Thanks, Amir! There were plenty of colourful flowers, think I'll post more in the next few days. :-)

António Pires from Lisbon, Portugal

Beautiful. I like the composition and the combination of colours. Thanks for the information regarding Ricinus communis.

13 Aug 2008 3:28pm

@António Pires: You're welcome! When I'm looking at something I want to know what it is. I'm a quite curious person with a bad memory. So I write it down. Another posting done. :-)

JoeB from Brampton, Canada

Add a "T" at the end and you have a politcal red plant.

13 Aug 2008 3:46pm

@JoeB: Yeah, communist ricinus from outer space makes your digestion run mad!!! Save the world from castor oil!

Evelyne Dubos from Le Mans, France

Great composition and colored plants.

13 Aug 2008 10:09pm

@Evelyne Dubos: Thanks, Evelyne! Indeed, it's very decorative, but also quite toxic! Take care! :-)

Twelvebit from Victoria, United States

I really like this one. I guess it's the color and the pattern of the leaves, offset by the red round center. BTW, Castor Oil was my grandfather's favorite punishment of my father --a big spoon full whenever he got a little smarty mouth.

13 Aug 2008 11:36pm

@Twelvebit: *shudder* - but so healthy! :-D

akarui from Kagoshima, Japan

The shape of the leaves are very nice and the red part of plant too. It makes a very nice picture and it is interesting to know that it is a medicinal plant.

14 Aug 2008 7:03am

@akarui: It's widely used for decorating the cities here. I think people would be less delighted if they knew that this is the source of the dreaded Castor Oil and of a deadly toxin! :-)

Japanalia from Yokohama, Japan

A most decorative plant! I like the shapes of the leaves and their colour. I also like the way you composed the shot, the plant looks like growing in size in the upwards direction!As if saying...let me show it all!

14 Aug 2008 8:52am

@Japanalia: Yes, it's a 'herbaceous perennial', though here it's usually cultivated as an annual plant (due to our cold winters). But if they would let it grow, it would become a quite big brush!

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