castor-oil plant

Noun
Synonyms: castor bean plantpalma christipalma christRicinus communis

WordNet 3.0

Noun (1)

  1. large shrub of tropical Africa and Asia having large palmate leaves and spiny capsules containing seeds that are the source of castor oil and ricin; widely naturalized throughout the tropicsSynonyms: castor bean plantpalma christipalma christRicinus communis
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Palma Christi \Pal"ma Chris"ti\ [L., palm of Christ.] (Bot.) A plant (Ricinus communis) with ornamental peltate and palmately cleft foliage, growing as a woody perennial in the tropics, and cultivated as an herbaceous annual in temperate regions; -- called also castor-oil plant. [Sometimes corrupted into palmcrist.] [1913 Webster]
Castor oil \Cas"tor oil\ (k[a^]s"t[~e]r oil`). A mild cathartic oil, expressed or extracted from the seeds of the Ricinus communis, or Palma Christi. When fresh the oil is inodorous and insipid. [1913 Webster]

Castor-oil plant. Same as Palma Christi. [1913 Webster]

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