Castor Bean...
By Lori
4 Aug, 2012
4 likes
Just to see how well they'd do in the sandy soil we have here...these are two of four plants on the forest side of the stream...and they seem to like it...even if it has been a lot on the dry side.
Comments on this photo
I can see it as a tree, D1~ I had one in my other garden that was 8 ft. tall! Very interesting plants...deadly, but interesting. Source of Ricin (nerve) gas I believe. (Ricinus communis)?
7 Aug, 2012
Yes, the seeds are very poisonous. It's amazing once it's processed, it becomes castor oil.
Yes, castor trees can become very tall and big within a very short period of time.
Castor trees pop up along the freeways in asphalt! (and all over empty fields). It's so hardy.
Here's one in Balboa Park:
http://www.growsonyou.com/photo/slideshow/226366-ricinus-communis-castor-bean-tree/member/Delonix1
7 Aug, 2012
does it have any natural enemies, or diseases? Some plants are only susceptible to kryptonite! lol....
9 Aug, 2012
No, it has no natural enemies. I see them all over the place here. Sometimes there's fields with hundreds or thousands of this tree.
9 Aug, 2012
This plant grows as a wild weed here in many areas of California. It also becomes a tree here and lives for several years.
7 Aug, 2012