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CLASSIFICATION

ORDER	:  Malpighiales
FAMILY	:  Euphorbiacee
GENUS	:  Ricinus L.
SPECIES	:  communis L.
BOTANICAL NAME	:  Ricinus communis L.
SYNONYMS	:  Croton spinosus L.
COMMON NAME	:  Castor bean, wonder tree.
TAMIL NAME	:  Amanakku
HINDI NAME	:  Arandi.

PLANT DESCRIPTION

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.

INFLORESCECE :  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.

MEDICINAL USES

A castor plant root extract (ethanolic) is considered to be useful for the cure of asthmatic effect as it is against allergy and acts as mast cell stabilizer due to presence of saponins and flavonoids phytochemicals in it.

In a study R. communis seed extract was investigated for steroids and alkaloids phytochemical tests. The result was positive.

The subcutaneous application of the ether extracts of seed of castor plant to the rats showed significant anticonceptive effect.

IMAGES

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