RICINUS COMMUNIS
\ɹˈɪsɪnəs kəmjˈuːniz], \ɹˈɪsɪnəs kəmjˈuːniz], \ɹ_ˈɪ_s_ɪ_n_ə_s k_ə_m_j_ˈuː_n_i_z]\
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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 tropics
By Princeton University
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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 tropics
By DataStellar Co., Ltd
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Ord. Euphorbiaceae. Sex. Syst. Monoecia Monadelphia. Castor-oil seeds, whence the oil is obtained, are inodorous; taste acrid and slightly sweetish. One or two seeds- Semina Cataputiae majoris seu Ricini vulgaris-will act as a cathartic; but the oil is alone used. It is obtained by bruising the castor-seeds, previously decorticated, and then expressing the oil without the application of heat. Recently-drawn castor oil, Oleum de kerva seu kervium, Alkerva, O. Ricini seu Cicinum seu Palmae liquidum seu de Palma Christi,-in the United States often called simply Oil, (F.) Huile de Ricin-is inodorous and nearly insipid. It is cathartic, operating speedily, and may be used in all cases where powerfully stimulating purgatives would be injurious. Hufeland recommends that a drop of croton oil shall be added to an ounce of the oil of poppy, and that the mixture shall be called Oleum Ricini Officinale. At the Cape of Good Hope the oil is obtained from Ricinus lividus. A variety of Ricinus at Cape Verd is employed by the inhabitants to increase the secretion of milk. It is applied in the form of poultice, made with the green leaves, to the mammae, or of a strong decoction, with which the mammae and the external parts of generation are washed.
By Robley Dunglison
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Plant whose seeds afford castor-oil.
By Willam Alexander Newman Dorland
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Castor oil plant, palma Christi, the Gr., kiki, or the Gr., kroton, of Dioscorides; a native probably of the East Indies and Africa, now widely distributed through cultivation in most tropical and many temperate countries. The seeds yield castor oil. The seeds contain the extraordinarily poisonous ricin.
By Smith Ely Jelliffe
Word of the day
Snake's-head
- Guinea-hen flower; -- so called in England because its spotted petals resemble the scales of a snake's head.