palma christ

Thân thiện

A farmer harvests seeds from a palma christ plant.

Definition

Noun 1. A tropical plant: A large, fast-growing shrub native to Africa and Asia, but now widespread in tropical regions. It is characterized by its large, star-shaped (palmate) leaves, spiny seed capsules, and seeds which are the source of castor oil and the poison ricin. * Scientific name: Ricinus communis.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The palma christ grew rapidly in the warm climate, its broad leaves providing dense shade.
  • Farmers cultivate palma christ primarily for its seeds, which are processed to produce castor oil.
  • Although beautiful, every part of the palma christ plant is poisonous if ingested.

Advanced Usage

• Historical/Common Name: "Palma christ" is an older common name for the castor oil plant. The name is derived from the plant's palmate leaves, which some thought resembled a hand (), and its historical medicinal use.
  • In some herbal texts, the castor bean plant is still referred to by its traditional name, palma christ.

Variants and Related Words

• Castor oil plant: The most common modern name for the same species ().
• Castor bean: A term for the seed of the palma christ plant.
• Ricinus communis: The botanical Latin name for the species.

Synonyms

• Castor oil plant
• Castor bean plant

Notes on Meaning

• The term palma christ refers specifically to the entire plant species . It is not used to refer to the extracted oil (castor oil) or the isolated poison (ricin) on their own, but to the living shrub that produces them.

Học thuật

Noun

1. large shrub of tropical Africa and Asia having large palmate leaves and spiny capsules containing seeds that are the source of castor oil and ricin; widely naturalized throughout the tropics

Từ đồng nghĩa

• castor-oil plant
• castor bean plant
• palma christi
• Ricinus communis