Definition

1. Noun:
   • The toxic seed of the castor-oil plant (Ricinus communis): A "castor bean" is the seed from which castor oil is extracted. It contains ricin, a highly poisonous substance.

Usage

• The term "castor bean" is used to refer to the physical seed itself, often in contexts discussing botany, agriculture, toxicity, or the production of castor oil.
• It is a countable noun (e.g., , ).

Examples

• Noun:
  • The castor bean is processed to produce castor oil, which has various industrial and medicinal uses.
  • Despite its usefulness, the raw castor bean is extremely poisonous if ingested.
  • Farmers harvest the spiky pods to collect the castor beans inside.

Advanced Usage

• "Castor bean" as a modifier: The term can be used attributively to describe related things.
  • castor bean plant (the plant that produces the seeds)
  • castor bean toxicity (the poisonous nature of the seeds)

Variants and Related Words

• Castor-oil plant (n): The name of the plant () that produces castor beans.
• Castor oil (n): The pale yellow vegetable oil pressed from castor beans.
• Ricin (n): The deadly poison found in castor beans.

Synonyms

• Ricinus seed (technical term)

Notes on Meaning

• It is important to distinguish the seed ("castor bean") from the derived product ("castor oil"). The oil itself is not toxic when properly processed, as the poison remains in the seed cake.
• The term "bean" is used loosely, as it is not a true bean in the legume family.

Noun

1. the toxic seed of the castor-oil plant; source of castor oil