Ricinus communis

• Botanical Name : Ricinus communis L.
• Common Name : Erandi, Divelo, Castor-Oil Plant
• Plant Family : Euphorbiaceae
• Plant Form : Shrub
• Occurrence (Sectors) : 5, 10, 26, 29
• Occurrence (Special Areas) : Indroda Park

About Ricinus communis Plant :

• Habit : A shrub with straight stem, bark pale-brown, wood white, stems and branches glacous-green or with a purple tinge, terete, glabrous, with scars of fallen leaves.
• Leaves : Peltate, 5-9 lobed, lobes palmate-partite, acuminate or acute at apex, cordate or subcordate at base, serrate along the margins dark-green above, pale-green and prominently nerved beneath, membranous, glabrous, terete.
• Inflorescence : Terminal racemes.
• Flowers : Small, yellow, in terminal racemes, males above, females below.
• Fruit : 3-lobed, oblong, softly spinous, deep bluish-green, oblong, greyish-brown, motted with white or creamy, with white caruncles.
• Flowering and Fruiting Time : Almost all the year.
• Significance :
  • It is cultivated in the fields.
  • It is an important non-irritant purgative, the oil extracted from seeds is used for burning and lubricant.
  • The leaves are used in headache and heat stroke.
  • The seed oil has a very large number of industrial uses. It is also an important export item from India.