The leaves and beans of the castor plant are deadly poisonous.
Castor plants have long been used throughout the United States as a gopher deterrent in gardens, but these seemingly harmless plants contain a deadly substance: Ricin, a poison found throughout the plant-particularly in the seeds. A few milligrams of this poison is enough to kill an adult. Does this Spark an idea?
History
The castor plant was originally indigenous to South Africa and was used by ancient Egyptians as an oil for fire. Castor plants first made a big push in the United States in the 1950s as the government tried to increase castor plants for the production of machine lubricant using castor oil. It has since become popular in gardens, but it can be difficult to find in stores because of the dangers associated with eating the seeds-or beans.
Toxicity
The entire plant is toxic, including the leaves, and should never be ingested. The castor plant is the source of ricin, which is most prevalent in the seeds, but it can be found in smaller traces throughout the plant. Symptoms of ricin poisoning include nausea, abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea. This is followed by convulsions, paralysis of the respiratory system and death. Due to the low levels of ricin throughout the rest of the plant, ingestion of the leaves will not cause death unless eaten in large amounts or if seeds are accidentally ingested with the leaves.
Uses
Despite its deadly poison, the castor plant is used for a variety of purposes, including lubrication and medical purposes. Castor oil is squeezed from the seeds, but the oil does not contain the deadly poison. The oil has also been used in the production of soaps, ink, enamels and paints. The seeds are also dropped down gopher and mole holes as a way to poison the annoying garden pests.
Appearance
A castor plant can grow between three to 10 feet. The plant has green leaves and several branches. Each branch ends in a spike up to a foot long. Flowers adorn the upper and lower areas of the spike and develop pods that house as many as three of the deadly seeds each. Each spike can have between 15 and 80 seed pods. A single castor plant can have as many as a 1,000 seeds.
Warnings
The castor plant should never be grown in an area frequented by children. The flowers and mottled colors of the seeds may gain a child's interest and lead to ingestion. While eating several seeds will cause death in adults, depending on the size of the child a single seed may be enough to cause death. It can take 12 to 48 hours for the first symptoms of ricin poisoning to manifest.
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