Giant Zanzibar Castor Bean 7 Seeds -Ricinus- Green Leaf

THE CASTOR BEAN is a shrub-like plant with large, long-stemmed leaves that are lobed like fingers. Its spiny, clustered seed pods contain white, bean-like seeds (Botanically speaking, it isn't a true bean, but a Spurge), which typically bear attractive markings in various colours. The plant is native to tropical Africa, but it is grown commercially in California and has become naturalized throughout the southern United States. In northern areas, it is often cultivated, in the warmer months, as an ornamental annual in gardens, providing local gardeners with a castor of thousands....

Giant Zanzibar is a larger variety than common castor bean with more conspicuous veining on the leaves. This is a fast growing plant with huge, palmate, tropical-looking leaves up to three feet across. In tropical areas Castor Beans are perennial. This variety can grow 20 feet tall.

POISON LOCATION: Seeds, bark & leaves are all somewhat toxic, but the greatest concentration of the toxin occurs in the seeds & their pods. If you grow Castor Beans in your garden and you have children it is safest to remove & destroy the seed pods before they mature.

POISON TYPE: Ricin, a poisonous protein, one of a group known as plant lectins. In the right amount & concentration, Ricin is said to be one of the most toxic natural poisons in the world. It works by inhibiting the synthesis of more complex proteins in the intestinal wall, which in turn causes digestive distress. Castor Beans are traditionally cultivated as a basis of laxatives such as castor oil, which is also used as an ingredient of industrial lubricants, soaps, & varnishes

My Grandmother use to plant one Castor Bean Plant near the garden to keep deer away!