Question

Write botanical name and family of Castor plant.

Answer 1

Hint: Also called as castor bean, the castor plant is a large plant of the spurge family. They are commercially grown for the pharmaceutical and industrial uses of its oil and are also being used in landscaping. The castor-oil plant, which is probably native to tropical Africa, has become naturalized throughout the warm areas of the world. India, China, and Brazil are the countries where castor plants are chiefly cultivated largely as the source of castor oil.

Complete answer:
Botanical name of the castor plant is Ricinus communis. It comes under the family of Spurges. The castor plant can greatly vary in its growth habit and its appearance. Breeders have extended the variety of this plant by selecting a range of cultivars for leaf and blossom hues, as well as oil output. Castor plants are fast-growing, suckering shrubs and can reach up to the size of a small tree, around \[12m\].
Castor seeds are the source of castor oil, which has a wide variety of applications. These seeds contain about \[40\% \] to \[60\% \] oil which is rich in triglycerides, which is mainly ricinolein. A water-soluble toxin, known as ricin is present in these seeds, which is also present in lower concentrations throughout the whole plant.
In medicine and many other applications, castor oil is being used. In laboratory rats, an alcoholic extract of the leaf was shown to protect the liver from damage from certain poisons. The methanolic extracts of leaves of Ricinus communis were used in antimicrobial testing against eight pathogenic bacteria in rats that had shown antimicrobial properties.

Hence, Botanical name: Ricinus communis. Family: Spurges

Note:
Common name 'castor oil' probably came from its use as a replacement for castoreum, which is a perfume base made from the dried perineal glands of the beaver. Palm of Christ, or Palma Christi, is another common name that derives from castor oil's reputed ability to heal wounds and cure ailments. Castor oil is an effective motor lubricant that has been used in internal combustion engines which included World War I airplanes, some racing cars and some airplane models.