• Home
  • About Me
  • Plant Questions & Answers
  • Get Yard Help
  • Newsletter Archive
  • Contact

Yard Doc Carol

Scary Plants for  Halloween – Castor Bean

October 31, 2022 By Carol Cloud Bailey Leave a Comment

31 Oct

For many folks, Halloween is a time to celebrate all the ancient festivals that came before and still exist. Halloween combines the Celtic feast of Samhain, Roman harvest festivals, and the Christian All Saint’s Day. Plant traditions are standard parts of the celebrations. What about scary plants like Castor Bean for Halloween?

Scary Plant - Castor Bean
Castor Bean plant, Ricinus communis, provides castor oil and the poison ricin. It is also known as tick plant because the seeds look like engorged ticks and are food for birds that do not seem to be affected by the toxins in the seeds.

The Roman harvest celebration partially honored the goddess Pomona or fruits and trees. The tradition of bobbing for apples was said to be part of Samhain and Halloween from the feast for Pomona. However, there is little historical evidence to support this. However, in the British Isles, bobbing for apples was used as a divination game that would reveal the first letter of your true love’s name.

According to Irish legend, Stingy Jack tricked the Devil into promising he wouldn’t go to hell for his sins. When he died, he discovered neither heaven nor hell would admit him. He was turned away with nothing more than a burning ember from hell to light his way. Jack hollowed out a turnip to hold the ember, and “Jack of the Lanterns” has been wandering the countryside with his glowing turnip ever since.

Pumpkins are New World plants. The inhabitant of the British Isles carved faces into turnips, rutabagas, potatoes, or even beets and lit them on All Hallows’ Eve to frighten away Stingy Jack. When Irish immigrants came to America, they found few turnips or rutabagas. They used what was available, eventually turning to the larger and much easier carving pumpkin for jack-‘o-lanterns.

There are plants just as scary as those we use as decorations at Halloween. The big-leafed castor bean (Ricinus communis) is a plant worthy of respect and can give parents and farmers a scare indeed. Castor bean is native to the Middle East and Africa but has become widespread throughout subtropical and tropical regions worldwide. It showed up in Florida between 1884 and 1913.

Castor bean is in the plant family Euphorbiaceae, the same as poinsettia and crown-of-thorns. It is a perennial and can reach 40 feet tall. The leaves are roughly circular with deep lobes, large, and the petiole attaches in the middle. It flowers in the summer and fall on spikes at the ends of the stems. The fruit follows the flowers and is a red capsule with many spikes. The three shiny, mottled seeds inside the capsules can be troublesome.

Castor Bean is used in some areas as an ornamental.
Castor Bean provides castor oil and the poison ricin extracted from the seeds inside the spiny pods.

These scary plants grow in disturbed areas throughout the state. It is an aggressive grower and considered invasive – scary! Castor bean pollen is highly allergenic, and the sap causes dermatitis in some people. If the seeds are ingested by pets, fatality is possible – scary. Ricin, a highly toxic substance, is made from castor beans.

However, castor beans are also beneficial. Castor oil has been used medicinally, notably as a laxative. Commercially, oil is extracted and used in plastics, paint, lubricants, soap, ink, and paint.

Cast bean plant is both scary and useful. If you find it in your garden or landscape, remove it as invasive. For an interesting read, check out Dr. George Rogers’s Treasure Coast Natives BLOG about castor bean history and Jeckle and Hyde personalities.

This column first appeared in the Treasure Coast Newspapers.

Filed Under: Plant Questions & Answers Tagged With: Florida gardening, Florida landscapes, Halloween plants, invasive plants, scary plants, South Florida Landscape

Previous Post: « Something wickedly stinky in garden
Next Post: Dog-proof plants and mailbox landscaping »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Follow me!

Recent Posts

  • Selecting plants for a western exposure
  • Begone Lizard! Let’s clean up around here
  • How and where to buy plants
  • A little help for winter veggie gardeners
  • Arbor Day, it’s time to plant trees

Recent Comments

  • John on Plant and prune trees right for best results during hurricane season
  • Carol Cloud Bailey on Plant and prune trees right for best results during hurricane season
  • Katherine on Plant and prune trees right for best results during hurricane season
  • Katherine Booth on Plant and prune trees right for best results during hurricane season
  • BusinessIdeasUK on Pro-Tips for the Landscape in April

Monthly Gardening Tips & Garden Articles Archives

Monthly Newsletter – Florida Landscaping Tips

Subscribe

* indicates required

Categories

  • Newsletter Archives (7)
  • Plant Questions & Answers (89)
  • Uncategorized (5)

Monthly Newsletter – Florida Landscaping Tips

Subscribe

* indicates required

Connect With Me!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Customer Service

  • Online Plant Help

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact

Learn More

  • Newsletter Archive
  • Plant Questions & Answers

Copyright © 2023 · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT