castor-oil plant

3 definitions found

castor-oil plant - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Palma Christi \Pal"ma Chris"ti\ [L., palm of Christ.] (Bot.)
     A plant (Ricinus communis) with ornamental peltate and
     palmately cleft foliage, growing as a woody perennial in the
     tropics, and cultivated as an herbaceous annual in temperate
     regions; -- called also castor-oil plant. [Sometimes
     corrupted into palmcrist.]
     [1913 Webster]

  Castor oil \Cas"tor oil\ (k[a^]s"t[~e]r oil`).
     A mild cathartic oil, expressed or extracted from the seeds
     of the Ricinus communis, or Palma Christi. When fresh the
     oil is inodorous and insipid.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Castor-oil plant. Same as Palma Christi.
        [1913 Webster]

castor-oil plant - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  castor-oil plant
      n 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 [syn: castor-oil plant, castor bean plant
           , palma christi, palma christ, Ricinus communis
           ]