Castor bean plants...danger?
 

Hello Experts !

I live in Gilbert AZ just east of Phoenix. In looking for some unusual
tropical looking plants, I remembered growing a Castor bean plant many years
ago back in the Midwest. A friend here also has one in his backyard that is
only about a year old from seed, it has a trunk diameter of about 5 inches
and is a good 12+in height. He gave me a handful of the seeds. I planted 2
and within a week they sprouted and are growing vigorously. My question is
this...how poisonous are these plants and in what manner? Do the seeds have
to be consumed to be deadly or can simply getting sap from a pruning on your
skin cause problems?
My other concern is to our two Pekinese dogs(9-14 lbs). Are these plants
dangerous to them( the plants are in the backyard where they go out
supervised).

Thanks
Brandon

Castor bean plants...danger?
 

The only thing dangerous about castor bean plants is the seeds. Make sure
children can't get hold of them. I can't imagine a dog eating them, but you
should probably keep them out of the dogs' reach to be sure. The plants
themselves are harmless. A castor plant is one of the leading characters in the
Book of Jonah. it is sometimes translated gourd, but we now know it was a
castor oil plant, & the story makes sense.
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

Castor bean plants...danger?
 

On Fri, 23 May 2003 16:41:58 -0700, "Brandon"
wrote:


Hello Experts !

I live in Gilbert AZ just east of Phoenix. In looking for some unusual
tropical looking plants, I remembered growing a Castor bean plant many years
ago back in the Midwest. A friend here also has one in his backyard that is
only about a year old from seed, it has a trunk diameter of about 5 inches
and is a good 12+in height. He gave me a handful of the seeds. I planted 2
and within a week they sprouted and are growing vigorously. My question is
this...how poisonous are these plants and in what manner? Do the seeds have
to be consumed to be deadly or can simply getting sap from a pruning on your
skin cause problems?
My other concern is to our two Pekinese dogs(9-14 lbs). Are these plants
dangerous to them( the plants are in the backyard where they go out
supervised).

Thanks
Brandon

Excerpted from the book "Poisonous Plants of California"

"Toxic part: Seeds, and to a lesser extent, the leaves.

The seed must be broken and chewed to release the ricin. As few as
two or three seeds have been fatal to children; two to four may cause
severe illness or death in an adult:..."

There are also allergic reactions to the plant. There are lots of
poisonous plants, this book is 432 pages long, a good book, I believe.


_

- Charles
-
-does not play well with others

Castor bean plants...danger?
 

"Iris Cohen" wrote in message
...
The only thing dangerous about castor bean plants is the seeds. Make
sure
children can't get hold of them. I can't imagine a dog eating them,
but you
should probably keep them out of the dogs' reach to be sure. The
plants
themselves are harmless. ...

The Castor Bean plant is a perennial in the Phoenix area and grows to a
15 foot tree (some varieties). If you are concerned about pets eating
the beans (very unlikely), you can cut off the flowers or seed burs a
few feet off the ground or higher if necessary.

Olin
NW Phoenix AZ

Castor bean plants...danger?
 

"jc" wrote in message
...
"Iris Cohen" wrote in message
...
The only thing dangerous about castor bean plants is the seeds. Make
sure
children can't get hold of them. I can't imagine a dog eating them,
but you
should probably keep them out of the dogs' reach to be sure. The
plants
themselves are harmless. ...

The Castor Bean plant is a perennial in the Phoenix area and grows to a
15 foot tree (some varieties). If you are concerned about pets eating
the beans (very unlikely), you can cut off the flowers or seed burs a
few feet off the ground or higher if necessary.

Olin
NW Phoenix AZ


Thank you both for the information !
I will keep the seed pods out of reach and remove them before they break
open and drop the seeds.

I am looking for interesting plants that are tropical in appearance for
landscaping my backyard. I am also looking for fast growing vines for a
soon to be built arbor that will cover and exposed area between the house
and the pool.
Any suggestions for this area?

Thanks again
Brandon

Castor bean plants...danger?
 

"Charles" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 23 May 2003 16:41:58 -0700, "Brandon"
wrote:


Hello Experts !

I live in Gilbert AZ just east of Phoenix. In looking for some unusual
tropical looking plants, I remembered growing a Castor bean plant many
years
ago back in the Midwest. A friend here also has one in his backyard that
is
only about a year old from seed, it has a trunk diameter of about 5
inches
and is a good 12+in height. He gave me a handful of the seeds. I
planted 2
and within a week they sprouted and are growing vigorously. My question
is
this...how poisonous are these plants and in what manner? Do the seeds
have
to be consumed to be deadly or can simply getting sap from a pruning on
your
skin cause problems?
My other concern is to our two Pekinese dogs(9-14 lbs). Are these plants
dangerous to them( the plants are in the backyard where they go out
supervised).

Thanks
Brandon

Excerpted from the book "Poisonous Plants of California"

"Toxic part: Seeds, and to a lesser extent, the leaves.

The seed must be broken and chewed to release the ricin. As few as
two or three seeds have been fatal to children; two to four may cause
severe illness or death in an adult:..."

There are also allergic reactions to the plant. There are lots of
poisonous plants, this book is 432 pages long, a good book, I believe.

- Charles
-
-does not play well with others

Excellent information.
Thanks
Brandon

Castor bean plants...danger?
 

Caster bean oil is toxic to moles and grub and the like.

I use it on my lawn to kill the moles and stop there digging up my nice
3 acre lawn.

Works great.

Castor bean plants...danger?
 

Caster bean oil is toxic to moles and grub and the like.

I use it on my lawn to kill the moles and stop there digging up my nice
3 acre lawn.

Works great.

Any idea if it does horrible things to earthworms?

Castor bean plants...danger?
 

Castor bean plants...danger?
 

In article ,
Anonymo421 wrote:

Caster bean oil is toxic to moles and grub and the like.

I use it on my lawn to kill the moles and stop there digging up my nice
3 acre lawn.

Works great.

Any idea if it does horrible things to earthworms?

Theoretically, it should kill them. The poison in ricin is
a ribosomal poison. Ribosomes are small structures in
the cell that are involved in making proteins in the cell
from the patterns encoded in DNA. If the cell cannot
make the proteins necessary to maintain itself, it falls
apart. The poison acts as a catalyst; after breaking
up one ribosome, it moves to the next. A single ricin
molecule can inactivate over 1500 ribosomes per minute,
and is resistent to degradation.

Thus, a very small dose can be fatal.

See:

http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/...cin/ricin.html


billo