Castor oil: properties, description and cultivation of plants from seeds

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Despite the fact that the history of castor bean has more than 4000 years, its homeland has not yet been so reliably determined. Some botanists suggest that this plant first appeared in Africa, on the territory of modern Ethiopia, others give the palm to India, others to Brazil. Be that as it may, no one will dispute the beneficial properties of the castor bean plant, however, one should not forget about the toxicity of its seeds.

Description of the castor bean plant and photo of the plant

Perhaps there is no plant that would grow up to 3 m in height in one summer. It grows, as they say, by leaps and bounds and is distinguished by rare beauty.

The plant has a succulent branched stem with many beautiful dark red or green palmate leaves.

Flowers in a spike-shaped inflorescence are located at the top of the stem and branches. And although the flowers themselves are inconspicuous, the inflorescence up to 25 cm in size looks very decorative.

Castor beans bloom at the end of July. The fruit is a spherical three-celled capsule with thorns, containing three seeds. When ripe, the box cracks and the seeds fall out.

The castor bean seeds themselves are beautiful. They are shiny, with dark brown stains on a gray-coffee background, the size of a bean. It is believed that the plant received the name “castor bean” because of the motley pattern and shape of the seeds, resembling ticks in appearance.

In Africa and Asia, the plant is up to 10 years old and grows into a tree 8-12 m high. In our country it is an annual plant ; and grows, and blooms, and gives seeds – all in one year.

How to plant and grow castor beans from seeds

Castor oil loves a sunny place, it can easily tolerate drought, but with rare abundant watering, and even on fertile land, it can be especially decorative.

How to plant castor beans from seeds in your garden? Seeds in the conditions of the middle lane are sown immediately in open ground in early May, when the earth warms up to +12 … + 14 ° С. Shoots are afraid of morning frosts.

And how to grow castor beans in seedlings in order to get the earliest decorative effect? Do not forget that the seeds have a very hard shell and they should first be scalded with boiling water, then cooled in cold water and germinated one by one in a pot, seedlings will appear in 5-7 days.

When growing castor beans from seeds, when seedlings sprout, you need to plant them in open ground so as not to destroy the earthen clod and not damage the roots.

Castor oil is valued worldwide as a technical and medicinal plant . From its seeds, a non-drying technical oil is obtained, which is widely used in industry.

Since ancient times, castor bean oil has been known in medicine as a good laxative (castor oil). For external use, ointments, emulsions, and pastes are prepared from it. It is also used to prevent hair loss.

Given that castor bean seeds never dry out or lose their shape, they are often made into beads.

Types and varieties of castor beans

What does castor oil look like – is it a unique giant plant?

Below are photos and descriptions of castor beans of different types and varieties:

Zanzibar. Of the modern types of castor beans, the Zanzibar one is the most decorative. This variety has purple-red leaves. Its seeds are very poisonous.

Castor bean Gibson. The Gibson variety is characterized by a metallic luster of leaves, has undersized varieties with blood-red leaves; castor bean Cambodian – with an almost black trunk.

The domestic castor bean variety “Kazachka” is a powerful branching plant up to 2 m tall. Stems brown-red, dark, shiny. The leaves are dark green with red veins, young ones are reddish-purple with white dots on the edges of the teeth. The flowers are bright red with dark colored stigmas. Boxes of bright red, purple or carmine color, which persists until the seeds are fully ripe.

In the garden, 2-3 plants, if there is free space, will delight you with their exotic beauty until late autumn.

Castor oil in mixed groups has no effect. Much more beautiful castor bean looks like a single specimen on the lawn or in small groups without the participation of other plants. In this case, both the picturesque castor bean structure and the interesting outlines of its large leaves stand out most clearly.

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