What toxic plant was used for a spring ritual?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
August 6, 2001
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Killer Picks: Castor Bean, Lungwort, Beacon Silver, Blue Perennial Garden—>Click here.
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The seeds of the castor bean (Ricinus communis) [ris' in us com mun' is] are the source of castor oil. Castor oil was an ingredient in a totally disagreeable ritual perpetrated upon children--spring tonic. Right about the time that school let out in the spring, some insidious relative would descend upon a household and wreak havoc with the newly found freedom of children. And some children were even stupid enough to go to the grocery store for the ingredients of
Auntie's recipe. Once!
The castor bean seed contains a nasty little phytotoxin called ricin. Ricin, a protein molecule, is one of the most toxic poisons found in nature. When ingested, it causes nausea, muscle spasms, severe diarrhea, convulsions, kidney dysfunction, birth defects, and death. These symptoms are caused because ricin inactivates the cells' ability to manufacture proteins necessary for the body to function. As little as one milligram of ricin will kill an adult.
Prepared castor oil limits itself to nausea, muscle spasms, stomach cramps, and diarrhea. Although, nausea and diarrhea are lousy, the symptoms are the body's first line of defense in trying to rid itself of a toxin.
Perhaps it was a case of ignorance that anyone ever thought that 'poisoning' children every spring was a good thing.
For more information about castor beans and the phytotoxin, ricin, click the link:
Click here for more information
Series: | 1 | | 2 | | 3 | | 4 |
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
Suggested Reading:
What plant provides a strategic material? Plants that Changed History - February 10, 2004
What is ricin? Herbal Folklore - February 2, 2004
Castor Bean Plant (Ricinus communis) Plant of the Week - February 9, 2004
Why was a bishop accused of falsifying Scripture? What's in a Name? - February 20, 2004
Golden Polypody (Phlebodium aureum) Plant of the Week - June 7, 2004
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Unique Professionally Designed Gardens
Springhill Nursery®
Spring Hill Nursery has unique gardens professionally designed by experts to take the guesswork out of gardening. Whether you are looking for a three season garden, foundation garden, or a garden to attract hummingbirds and butterflies, Spring Hill Nursery has created a step-by-step design just for you.
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Castor Bean Seed
Gurney's Seed and Nursery®
An Excellent Screen!
A fast-growing privacy screen! Castor Bean grows 10-12 feet tall with gigantic veined leaves. Prefers full sun.
Annual flowers are easy to grow, bloom over a long period and allow you to enjoy a whole new look every year. Mass large numbers of them in beds and borders for a stunning color display, or tuck smaller numbers of them into perennial planting that need a little extra pizzazz.
[Flower and Grass Seed!]
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Comments: Leaves have many colors: green, red, bluish-gray, maroon, purple, and variegated. Leaves are veined with scarlet and measure 3 feet across. Seeds and leaves are poisonous. Likes heat and moisture. In zones 8-10 it acts as a perennial. Soak seeds for 24 hours before sowing. Requires staking in exposed areas. Helps keep moles away.
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Castor Bean Seed
Henry Fields Seed and Nursery®
Deep burgundy leaves up to 2 ft. across!
Grows 10-12 ft. tall, a fine privacy screen.
Many people believe that Castor Beans also repel moles.
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Cevennes Lungwort
Breck's Bulbs®
A fabulous shade plant native to the Cevennes Mountains of southern France. This carefree perennial bears bright, violet-blue blooms in spring surrounded by silvery, spotted leaves that stay attractive all summer.
Delightful beneath trees, along woodland paths and in pots. Multiplies annually.
Pulmonaria longifolia ssp. Cevennensis #1 plants. Deer resistant. zone 4 - 9
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Beacon Silver
Springhill Nursery®
Variegated silver-white foliage radiates color to create a glowing effect—especially in the evening.
Among ground covers, Beacon Silver has an unusually long blooming season, with pink flowers from mid spring through midsummer. Grows 8-12'' high.
Plant 12-18" apart. Lamium maculatum ‘Beacon Silver’
Deer Resistant. Hardiness Zone: 3 - 9 (-30° F)
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Complete Blue Perennial Garden
Springhill Nursery®
Create a lovely focal point with these eight specially selected perennials.
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Clustered Bellflowers
Belladonna Delphinium
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Blue Chip Campanulas
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Golden Lights Hardy Azalea
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The branches of this hardy azalea are covered with large, lightly scented, 1 1/2" yellow blooms for 2-3 weeks beginning in late spring to early summer.
Growing up to 3-5' high and with foliage that changes from deep green in summer to red in fall, this shrub makes an excellent border or addition to a naturalized area.
Rhododendron ‘Golden Lights’
Shipped in 4" pot. Hardiness Zone: 4 - 8 Hardy to -30° F
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Golden Lights Hardy Azalea Ships In The Spring
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Unique Characteristics: Hardy Azalea bred for Northern areas, developed for bud hardiness in Minnesota to survive rough winters and has successfully proven to be hardy. Branches are covered with large yellow bloom trusses each spring that exhibit a light fragrance. Somewhat rounded growth habit.
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Country Coneflower Collection
Breck's Bulbs®
Few Flowers say "old-fashioned country charm" quite as well as coneflowers. Native to North America, coneflowers are a beautiful sight growing wild in meadows. Even more exciting are the cultivated varieties American gardeners have come to adore over the past one hundred years.
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Now Breck's brings you five truly outstanding varieties in our new Country Coneflower Collection. With their profuse blooms and vivid gold, black, white and pink colours, they are sure to add just the right touch of soothing beauty to your summer garden. Capture this old-fashioned charm now and save 65% while our supplies last!
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WHITE SWAN CONEFLOWER - Beautiful white coneflower! Bears a profusion of large daisylike flowers with reflexing petals and stunning gold cones at the centre. Use both the flowers and decorative seed pods in arrangements. Grows 3-4' tall. Spread: 18-24" Flower Size: 4"
DOUBLE DECKER CONEFLOWER - Double your pleasure with these most unusual coneflowers! Bright pink petals surround the base of the showy centre cones and cap the top in the second year. A conversation piece in borders and bouquets! Grows 36-40" tall. Spread: 18-24" Flower Size: 3-4"
GREEN WIZARD CONEFLOWER - For those who appreciate the unique! Luminescent black cones are ringed with gold, creating a very striking effect. Blooms for up to 12 weeks, attracting butterflies all the while. Grows 3 feet tall. Spreads: 15-18" Flower Size: 3-5"
GOLDSTURM RUDBECKIA - The Perennial Plant Association's 1999 Plant of the Year. Large blooms with glistening black centres and golden, raylike petals 1-2" long. Densely packed blooms form a lush carpet. Grows 18-30" tall. Spread: 18-24" Flower Size: 2 ½" across
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