Family |
Euphorbiaceae
Ricinus communis
L.
Ricinus communis L.
First published in Sp. Pl.: 1007 (1753).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, p. 501, Pl. CCXIII, 4; 1970)
Description
Life-form & habit: Shrub, 1–4 m tall, with young branches and leaf stalks covered by a bluish waxy bloom.
Leaves: Large, alternate, long-stalked and shield-shaped, palmately divided into 7–11 toothed lobes.
Inflorescence & flowers: Racemes terminal or opposite the leaves, with male flowers below and female flowers above. Male flowers have conspicuous whitish-yellow masses of stamens; female flowers have a bluish ovary topped by long stigmas.
Fruit: Capsule more or less covered with tubercles ending in soft points.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: Flowering throughout the year.
Habitat & elevation: Abandoned ground around towns.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Around Saida, Beirut, Tripoli, Baalbeck and Kornet el Hamra.
Syrian distribution: Damascus and Hamme.
Native range: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia.
Introduced into: Alabama, Albania, Algeria, Andaman Is., Angola, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Arizona, Arkansas, Aruba, Ascension, Assam, Azores, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bismarck Archipelago, Botswana, Brazil West-Central, Bulgaria, Burkina, Burundi, California, Cambodia, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, Caprivi Strip, Caroline Is., Cayman Is., Central African Republic, Central American Pacific Is., Central European Russia, Chad, Chagos Archipelago, Chile Central, Chile North, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Christmas I., Cocos (Keeling) Is., Colombia, Comoros, Cook Is., Costa Rica, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, DR Congo, East Aegean Is., East Himalaya, Easter Is., Egypt, El Salvador, Eswatini, Fiji, Florida, France, Gabon, Galápagos, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Gilbert Is., Great Britain, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Gulf States, Hainan, Haiti, Hawaii, Honduras, Illinois, India, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Juan Fernández Is., Kazan-retto, Kentucky, Kenya, Kermadec Is., Korea, KwaZulu-Natal, Lebanon-Syria, Leeward Is., Lesotho, Libya, Louisiana, Madagascar, Madeira, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Marianas, Marquesas, Marshall Is., Maryland, Mauritania, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Mississippi, Missouri, Morocco, Mozambique, Mozambique Channel Is., Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, New South Wales, New York, New Zealand North, Nicaragua, Nicobar Is., Niue, Norfolk Is., Northern Provinces, Ogasawara-shoto, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Paraguay, Pitcairn Is., Portugal, Puerto Rico, Queensland, Romania, Rwanda, Samoa, Selvagens, Senegal, Sicilia, Society Is., Socotra, South China Sea, South European Russia, Southwest Caribbean, Spain, Sri Lanka, St.Helena, Sudan-South Sudan, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Tadzhikistan, Tanzania, Tennessee, Texas, Thailand, Tibet, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad-Tobago, Tuamotu, Tubuai Is., Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Wake I., Wallis-Futuna Is., West Himalaya, Western Sahara, Windward Is., Zambia, Zimbabwe.