Scientific Family
Euphorbiaceae
Synonyms
Ricinus africanus, R. amatus, P. angulatus, R. badius, R. communis var. lividus, R. communis var. megalospermus, R. communis var. rugosus
Other common names
agaliya
castor-oil plant
koll
mole bean plant
moy bean
palma christi
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Introduced
Lifecycle
Annual or perennial
Height
To 6 feet tall
Riparian
Yes
Tall, branching shrub with red to green or purple stems. Glossy, dark green, hand-shaped leaves with deep lobes often grow to over 1 foot wide. Small cup-like yellowish-green male flowers grow below red feathery female flowers atop the same flower spike.
Shrub to 6 feet tall; not hairy; leaves large, simple, alternate, palmately lobed, 8 to 10 lobes, to 16 inches wide; flowers in elongated clusters of male and female flowers, female flowers above the male flowers in the same cluster, without petals.
Habitat
Waste ground, riverbanks, sand and gravel bars (long, narrow deposits of sand or gravel especially at the mouth of a river), ravines, margins of cultivated fields, pastures, roadsides, along railways.
Plant Community
Riparian
Disturbed Areas
Low elevation
0
High elevation
2300
Flower Characteristics
Flowers without petals grow in dense spikey clusters 8 to 18 inches tall at the stem tops. Male flowers grow below female flowers on the same spike. Male flowers are yellowish-green, each about 1/2 inch wide. Female flowers are bright red and feathery.
Flower color
Yellowish-green, red
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
No
First bloom month
January
Last bloom month
December
Flower clusters
Elongated
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
The leaves are shiny, hairless, hand-shaped to star-shaped with long purplish stalks. Each leaf has 8 to 10 deeply cut lobes with jagged edges and prominent center veins. Leaves usually grow to about 1-1/3 feet wide but may reach up to 2-1/2 feet across.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Dark green
Leaf shape
Palmate
Leaf margin
Toothed
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
None
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Fruit is dry, round, about the size of a golf-ball and densely covered in soft, flexible spines. The fruit has 3 sections (carpels) that separate when the seeds are mature. Each section contains 1 seed that is forcibly ejected when the carpel splits open.
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit color
Reddish-brown, green, purplish
Seeds are smooth, shiny, oval, about 1/2 inch long, bean-like in shape and marked with smears of brown, black, white and gray (mottled). Each seed has a spongy projection (caruncle) on one end which helps it absorb water.