- Scientific Name: Ricinus communis L.
- Ref: Sp. Pl.:1007. 1753
- Synonyms:
- Cataputia major Ludw.
- C. minor Ludw.
- Croton spinosus L.
- Ricinus africanus Mill.
- R. angulatus Thunb.
- R. armatus Andrews
- R. atropurpureus Pax & K.Hoffm.
- R. badius Rchb.
- R. borboniensis Pax & K.Hoffm.
- R. cambodgensis Benary
- R. compactus Huber
- R. digitatus Noronha
- R. europaeus T.Nees
- R. giganteus Pax & K.Hoffm.
- R. glaucus Hoffmanns.
- R. hybridus Besser
- R. inermis Mill.
- R. japonicus Thunb.
- R. krappa Steud.
- R. laevis DC.
- R. leucocarpus Bertol.
- R. lividus Jacq.
- R. macrophyllus Bertol.
- R. medicus Forssk.
- R. medius J.F.Gmel.
- R. megalosperma Delile
- R. metallicus Pax & K.Hoffm.
- R. microcarpus Popova
- R. minor Mill.
- R. nanus Balb.
- R. obermannii Groenland
- R. peltatus Noronha
- R. perennis Steud.
- R. persicus Popova
- R. purpurascens Bertol.
- R. ruber Miq.
- R. rugosus Mill.
- R. rutilans Müll.Arg.
- R. sanguineus Groenland
- R. scaber Bertol. ex Moris
- R. speciosus Burm.f.
- R. spectabilis Blume
- R. tunisensis Desf.
- R. undulatus Besser
- R. urens Mill.
- R. viridis Willd.
- R. vulgaris Garsault
- R. vulgaris Mill.
- R. zanzibarinus Popova
- English Common Name: castor bean
- Chinese Common Name: 蓖麻 bìmá
- Japanese Common Name: トウゴマ [唐胡麻] tōgoma, ヒマ [蓖麻] hima
- Family: Euphorbiaceae
- Genus: Ricinus
- Distribution: Cultivated, ruderal weed, sometimes naturalized in riverbeds; below 100-500(-2300) m. Throughout China [cultivated worldwide].
Herbs erect, often single-stemmed but sometimes bushlike or treelike, 2-5(-10) m tall; younger parts glaucous, whole plant often reddish or purplish. Stipules connate, 2-3 cm; petiole 20-40 cm; leaf blade palmately 7-11-lobed, 30-50(-100) × 30-50(-100) cm, margin serrate. Inflorescence to 30 cm. Male flowers: pedicels 5-17 mm; calyx lobes 5-8 × 3-5 mm; stamens 7-8 mm. Female flowers: pedicels 5-10 mm; sepals ca. 5 mm; styles 2-5 mm. Fruiting pedicel to 45 mm; capsule ellipsoid or ovoid, 1.5-2.5 cm, echinate, spines to ca. 5 mm, sometimes smooth. Seed 7-12 mm, grayish, silvery, or beige with darker markings; caruncle depressed-conical, 2-3 mm wide. Fl. Jun-Sep, or Jan-Dec. (Flora of China)
