RICINUS COMMUNIS
Ricinus communis L. ,Sp. Pl: 1007 (1753) [HPI:III].
Cataputia major Ludw., Ectypa Veg: t. 7 (1760).
Annual shrubs, very rarely subscandent, glabrous. Stems sometimes succulent. whole plant often reddish to purplish. Leaves alternate, leaf blade palmately 7-11-lobed, serrate. Unisexual flower in Cyathium, in terminal of the stem; Male flowers with short pedicellate, reduced to a single stamen, stamens 7-8 mm; Female flowers with long pedicels, 5-10 mm; styles 2-5 mm;Capsule ellipsoid to ovoid, subtended by a very reduced perianth; Styles 3, free, sometimes partly connate; Stigma 2-lobed echinate, spines to ca. 5 mm, sometimes smooth, ovary 3-loculed; Ovules 1 per locule. Seed 7-12 mm, grayish, silvery, or beige with darker markings; caruncle depressed-conical, 2-3 mm wide.
Flowering: Jul.-Sep.
Fruiting:Aud-Dec.
Altitude:100-1000(-2300) m.
WorldDistribution:North East Africa
Indian Distribution:Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Sikkim,Uttarakhand, Darjeeling,evenin plane land (Introduced)
Part used: Ripe seed.
Medicinal used:
- Alleviate the rumbling sensations in the abdomen that causes contraction of the recti muscles
- Manages the frequent stools with cramps in the stomach and chilliness
- Reduces the burning and inflammation with sensitivity in the pit of the stomach
- Controls the weight loss with loose stools with blood and fever
- Can be given frequently in the right dose to lactating mothers for increasing the flow of milk.