Kingdom: Plantae
Divisi: Magnoliphyta
Classis: Magnoliopsida
Order: Malphigiales
Family: Euphobiaceae
Genus: Ricinus
Species: RIcinus communis L.
Local name: Jarak pagar
An evergreen glabrous, soft-woody shrub or small tree, often grown as annual, 1-5 m tall, with a strong tap-root and prominent lateral roots. Shoots usually glaucous, variously green or red. Occasional glands at nodes, petioles and main axes of inflorescences. Stem and branches with conspicuous nodes and ringlike scars of the bracts. Leaves spirally arranged, dark green when old; stipules 1-3 cm long, united to a sheathing bud, deciduous; petiole round, 3.5-50 cm long; blade peltate, 10-70 cm across, membranous, palmate with 5-11 acuminate, serrate lobes.
Panicles erect, terminal, later somewhat lateral by overtopping, up to 40 cm long, usually glaucous, with unisexual flowers, male flowers towards the base, female ones towards the top. Flowers shortly pedicelled in lateral cymes, 1-1.5 cm diameter, with 3-5 acute calyx lobes; corolla absent; male flowers with many stamens in branched bundles; female flowers with early caducous sepals; ovary superior with three 1-ovuled cells, usually soft spiny; styles 3, red or green, 2-cleft. Fruits ellipsoid to subglobose, 15-25 mm long, brown, spiny or smooth. Seeds ellipsoid, 9-17 mm long, compressed, with a brittle, mottled, shining seedcoat and with a caruncle at the base; endosperm copious, white; cotyledons thin.
Seedling epigeal; cotyledons petioled, broadly oblong, up to 7 cm long, flat, with entire margin; first leaves opposite.
Panicles erect, terminal, later somewhat lateral by overtopping, up to 40 cm long, usually glaucous, with unisexual flowers, male flowers towards the base, female ones towards the top. Flowers shortly pedicelled in lateral cymes, 1-1.5 cm diameter, with 3-5 acute calyx lobes; corolla absent; male flowers with many stamens in branched bundles; female flowers with early caducous sepals; ovary superior with three 1-ovuled cells, usually soft spiny; styles 3, red or green, 2-cleft. Fruits ellipsoid to subglobose, 15-25 mm long, brown, spiny or smooth. Seeds ellipsoid, 9-17 mm long, compressed, with a brittle, mottled, shining seedcoat and with a caruncle at the base; endosperm copious, white; cotyledons thin.
Seedling epigeal; cotyledons petioled, broadly oblong, up to 7 cm long, flat, with entire margin; first leaves opposite.
Benefit: The seed oil is the most important product of castor. All over the world, the traditional use is for illumination and medicine, the first being obsolete since the introduction of kerosene and electricity. The medicinal use of the oil and of other parts of the plant is still common, especially as a purge (internally) and for various sores (externally). At present, the oil is produced mainly as basic material for industry, particularly as a lubricant. The presscake is poisonous and cannot be fed to animals. It is used as fertilizer or as fuel. The castor oil also has commercial value for making soap, margarine, lubricants, paints, inks, plastics, and linoleum. The crop is also regarded as a useful feedstock for biodiesel production (Okechukwu et al., 2015; Razzazi et al., 2015).
Synonyms: Croton spinosus L.
Location: Zone 1 of UPI Botanic Garden
Comments
Post a Comment