EUPHORBlACEiE. 



599 



Fig. 263. 



applied in cases of bubo, and an infusion of its leaves given internally in 

 syphilis in Brazil. {Jour. Chim. Med. v. 424.) 



Ricinus. — Linn. 



Flowers monoecious. Calyx 3 — 5-parted, valvate. Sterile : stamens numerous, un- 

 equally polyadelphous. Fertile : style short. Stigmas 3, deeply bipartite, oblong, fringed, 

 coloured. Ovary globose, 3-celled, with an ovule in each cell. Fruit mostly aculeate, 

 capsular, tricoccous. 



A. genus of trees, shrubs, and herbs, with alternate, stipulate, palmate, 

 peltate leaves, having glands at the end of the petiole : the flowers are in 

 terminal panicles ; the lower male, the upper female. They are natives of 

 India, Africa, and the West Indies, and one species has become naturalized in 

 most warm climates. 



• R. communis, Linn. — Leaves palmate-peltate. Lobes lanceolate, serrate. Stem herba- 

 ceous, pruinose. Stigmas 3, bifid. Capsule aculeate. 



Linn., Sp. PI. 1430 ; Woodville, t. 61 ; Stephenson and Churchill, i. 50 ; 

 Lindley, Fl. Meet. 183. 



Common Names. — Castor-oil bush ; Palma Christi. 



Description. — Plant glau- 

 cous, very variable in size ; 

 in the United States it is 

 an annual of about 5 or 6 

 feet in height, whereas in 

 tropical countries it attains 

 the size of a small tree, and 

 is perennial. Root long, 

 thick, and fibrous. Stems 

 round, thick-jointed, furrow- 

 ed, of a purplish colour 

 above. Leaves large, deeply 

 divided into seven or nine 

 segments, on long, tapering, 

 purplish footstalks. Flowers 

 in long, green, glaucous 

 spikes, springing from the 

 divisions of the branches. 

 Capsules prickly. Seeds 

 ovate, shining, of a gray 

 colour, marbled with black. 



This species is a na- 

 tive of India, and has 

 become naturalized in 

 many warm climates ; it 

 is extensively cultivated 

 in many parts of the 

 United States. Willde- 

 now has considered the 

 perennial varieties as 

 specifically different from 

 the annual, but as no 

 other difference than such 

 as are caused by climate 

 are discoverable, he is 



.... ,^ . R. communis. 



evidently in error. It is • ■ J 



, • .% . i c ., a Stamens, b Anther, c Stigmas, d Capsule, e Seed. 



certain that seeds of the / Embryo. 



