ricinus communis

action	bactericide, cathartic, contraceptive, cyanogenetic, emollient, fatal poison, lactogogue, laxative, poison, purgative, tonic, vermifuge
body	breast, chest, womb
common name	castor bean, castor plant, castor-bean, lepo, palma christi
family	euphorbiaceae
indigenous use	cherokee, navaho, pima, santal, seri, swahili, tongan
range	africa, amistead nat. rec. area, australia, bahamas, brazil, burkina faso, cabrillo national monument, canada, channel island national park, chile, cumberland island national seashore, gabon, ghana, guatemala, haiti, haleakala national park, hawaii, india, iraq, ivory coast, java, kalaupapa national historic park, kentucky, kurdistan, kuwait, libya, malaya, mexico, nigeria, philippines, puukohola heiau national historic site, rhodesia, samoa, santa monica mounatins nat. rec. area, somalia, south africa, spain, sudan, togo, tonga, trinidad, tropics, us, venezuela, west africa
use	hair-oil, medicine, poison, poultice, soap
used to treat	asthma, blisters, boils, burns, cancer, catarrh, cathartic, chancres, cholera, colic, collyrium, common cold, convulsions, craw-craw, deafness, delirium, dermatosis, empacho, epilepsy, erysipelas, evil-eye, fever, flu, frambesia, gout, guinea worms, head sores, headache, inflammation, insecticide, intoxication, itch, leprosy, moles, myalgia, nerves, parturition, puerperium, rash, rheumatism, ringworm, skin ailments, skin inflammation, sore, sprains, stomach ache, swelling, toothache, tuberculosis, tumor, warts, wounds
comments	Regarded by some as the best of all purgatives and especially favored for children and the aged. It is also used externally for itch and ringworm. The seed is very poisonous.