Euphorbiaceae

Castor oil plant

Ricinus communis L.

Family: Euphorbiaceae
Genus: Ricinus

Pets and kids

CatsToxic
DogsToxic
KidsToxic

Why

Cats: Toxic

Toxic to cats (severe). Toxic principle: ricin.

Signs: vomiting, diarrhea, excessive thirst, convulsions, kidney failure.

Toxic and Non-toxic Plants: Castor Bean Plant - ASPCA ASPCA Animal Poison Control

Dogs: Toxic

Toxic to dogs (severe). Toxic principle: ricin.

Signs: vomiting, diarrhea, excessive thirst, convulsions, kidney failure.

Toxic and Non-toxic Plants: Castor Bean Plant - ASPCA ASPCA Animal Poison Control

Kids: Toxic

Toxic to young children (severe). Toxic principle: ricin.

Signs: abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, severe dehydration, organ failure.

What happens if I eat castor beans? - Poison Control Poison control
Ricinus communis (African Wonder Tree, Castor Bean, Castor Bean Plant, Castor Oil Plant, Castor-oil Plant, Mole Bean Plant) | North Carolina Extension Gardener University or extension

Castor oil plant: Caster plant, important as oil seed. Medicinal properties also important. — Photo: Dvellakat, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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Is Castor oil plant safe for cats, dogs and kids?

Is Castor oil plant safe for cats?

No. Our sources call Castor oil plant toxic to cats (severe). Toxic principle: ricin. Signs: vomiting, diarrhea, excessive thirst, convulsions, kidney failure.

Toxic and Non-toxic Plants: Castor Bean Plant - ASPCA ASPCA Animal Poison Control

Is Castor oil plant safe for dogs?

No. Our sources call Castor oil plant toxic to dogs (severe). Toxic principle: ricin. Signs: vomiting, diarrhea, excessive thirst, convulsions, kidney failure.

Toxic and Non-toxic Plants: Castor Bean Plant - ASPCA ASPCA Animal Poison Control

Is Castor oil plant safe for kids?

No. Our sources call Castor oil plant toxic to young children (severe). Toxic principle: ricin. Signs: abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, severe dehydration, organ failure.

What happens if I eat castor beans? - Poison Control Poison control
Ricinus communis (African Wonder Tree, Castor Bean, Castor Bean Plant, Castor Oil Plant, Castor-oil Plant, Mole Bean Plant) | North Carolina Extension Gardener University or extension

Ate some? Call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 (a fee may apply). For a child, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (US). If they are struggling to breathe or collapse, call 911. Don't give anything by mouth unless a vet or poison expert tells you to.

See all cat-safe plants, dog-safe plants and child-safe plants.

Common names

By language (105)

aeb: 5erwa3, خروع
Afrikaans: Kasterolieboom
Amharic: ጉሎ
Arabic: خروع, اسيبقار, الخروع, جار, سباء, شجرة زيت الخروع, طمرا, وسبار
Armenian: Տզկանեփ
arz: خروع
azb: گنه گرچک
Azerbaijani: Adi gənəgərçək, Gənəgərçək
ba: Кенә уты
Bangla: ভেন্না
Basque: Akain-belar, Errizino
Belarusian: Клешчавіна
Bhojpuri: रेणि
bik: Higeriya
Bulgarian: Обикновен рицин, Рицин
Burmese: ကြက်ဆူပင်
Cantonese: 蓖麻
Catalan: Ricí, Ricí o figuera del diable
Cebuano: Tangantangan
Central Kurdish: گەرچەک, بیھەنجیر
Chinese: 蓖麻, 蓖麻叶, 蓖麻子, 蓖麻根, 蓖麻油, 大麻子, 篦麻, 荜麻
Croatian: Ricinus
cv: Ăвăш
Czech: Skočec obecný
Danish: Ricinus, Kristpalme, Olieplante
dty: अँडिर
Dutch: Wonderboom, Castorboon
English: Castor oil plant, Castorbean, Castor bean, Castor bean plant, Castorbean plant
Esperanto: Ricino, (Ordinara) ricino
Estonian: Riitsinus
Filipino: Lansina, Castor oil, Castor oil plant, Kastor, Tangan-tangan, Tangantangan
Finnish: Risiini
French: Ricin commun, Bois de Carapat, Palma Christi, Ricin sanguin
frr: Ritsinus
Galician: Rícino
Georgian: Აბუსალათინი
German: Rizinus, Wunderbaum, Christuspalme, Hundsbaum, Kreuzbaum, Läusebaum, Palma Christi, Rizinusbaum
Greek: Ρίκινος
Guarani: Mba'ysyvo vai
Gujarati: દિવેલી
Haitian Creole: Maskreti
Hausa: Zirman
Hebrew: קיקיון מצוי, קיקיון, קקיון
Hindi: अरण्डी, अरंडी, रेंड़ी, रेड़ी
hsb: Wšědny ricinus, Wšědny skočenc
Hungarian: Ricinus
Indonesian: Jarak, Jarak pohon, Pohon Jarak
io: Ricino
Irish: Planda ola ricne
Italian: Ricino
Japanese: トウゴマ, ヒマ, ヒマシ, 唐胡麻, 蓖麻, 蓖麻子
Kannada: ಔಡಲ
Kazakh: Kenedän, Кенедән, كەنەدان, Үпілмәлік
ki: Mũbarĩki, Mwarĩki
Kinyarwanda: Ikibonobono
Korean: 피마자, 아주까리, 피마자속, 피마주
Kurdish: Kerçik, کەرچک
lah: ارنڈ, ارنڈی, ارِنڈ, ارِنڈی
Latvian: Rīcinaugs
Lithuanian: Paprastasis ricinmedis, Ricinmedis
Macedonian: Рицинус
Malagasy: Kinana, Tagnantàgnana, Tanantànana
Malay: Pokok jarak
Malayalam: ആവണക്ക്, Castor oil plant, ഏരണ്ഡ
Marathi: एरंड
Nepali: अँडिर
new: अलःमा
Norwegian Bokmål: Lakseroljeplante
Norwegian Nynorsk: Lakseroljeplante, Oljeplante, Risinus
Occitan: Ricin
os: Касторгæрдæг
pam: Tangan-tangan
pap: Carpata
Pashto: ارهنډه
Persian: گیاه روغن کرچک
Polish: Rącznik pospolity, Rącznik
Portuguese: Mamona, Mamoneira, Carrapateira, Carrapato, Abelmeluco, Ewe Ilará, Ewê lará, Folha de mamona
Punjabi: ਏਰੰਡ, ਅਰਿੰਡ, ਅਰਿੰਡੀ
Romanian: Ricin, Клещевина
Russian: Клещевина, Касторовые бобы, Клещевина обыкновенная, Рицина
Sanskrit: एरण्डसस्यम्
sat: ᱮᱨᱟᱸᱰᱚᱢ
Serbian: Ricinus
shn: တူၼ်ႈၵုင်ႈ, တူၼ်ႈမၢၵ်ႇမၼ်းယႂ်း, တူၼ်ႈမၼ်းယႂ်း, မႆႉၵုင်ႈ
Shona: Mupfure muti
Sindhi: ھيرڻ
Sinhala: එඬරු
Slovak: Ricín obyčajný
Slovenian: Ricinus, Kloščevec
Spanish: Ricino, Catapucia mayor, Catapúcia mayor, Hiera del demonio, Kerva, Palma de Cristo, Tartaguera
Sundanese: Kaliki
Swedish: Ricin, Castorbuske, Ricinbuske, Ricinträd, Risinbuske, Tyckefröträd
Tamil: ஆமணக்கு, ஆமணக்கு மரம், சிற்றாமணக்கு
Tatar: Кәнә уты, Кенә уты
Telugu: ఆముదము, ఆముదం
Thai: ละหุ่ง
Tongan: Lepo
Tsonga: Nhlampfurha
Turkish: Hint yağı bitkisi, Kene otu, Ban yağı, Hint yağı, Hintyağı, Keneotu
Ukrainian: Рицина
Urdu: ارنڈ
Uzbek: Kanakunjut
Vietnamese: Thầu dầu, Ricininae
Welsh: Trogenllys
wuu: 蓖麻

Synonyms

Cataputia major Ludw.
Cataputia minor Ludw.
Croton spinosus L.
Ricinus africanus Mill.
Ricinus angulatus Thunb.
Ricinus armatus Andrews
Ricinus atropurpureus hort. ex Pax & K.Hoffm.
Ricinus badius Rchb.
Ricinus borboniensis hort. ex Pax & K.Hoffm.
Ricinus cambodgensis Benary
Ricinus communis f. americanus Müll.Arg.
Ricinus communis f. argentatus T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. argyratus T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. atratus T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. atrobrunneatus T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. atrofulvatus T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. atrofuscatus T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. atrophoeniceus T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. atropunicatus T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. atropurpureatus T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. avellanatus T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. blumeanus Müll.Arg.
Ricinus communis f. canatus T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. canescens T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. carneatus T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. cervatus T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. cinerascens T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. cinereatus T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. denudatus Müll.Arg.
Ricinus communis f. epiglaucus Müll.Arg.
Ricinus communis f. erythrocladus Müll.Arg.
Ricinus communis f. exiguus T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. fulvatus T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. fumatus T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. fuscatus T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. gilvus T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. glaucus (Hoffmanns.) Müll.Arg.
Ricinus communis f. gracilis Müll.Arg.
Ricinus communis f. guttatus T.Carvalho
Ricinus communis f. hybridus (Besser) Müll.Arg.

and 174 more.

Characteristics

Growth habit: Forb/herb, Shrub, Subshrub, Tree
Lifespan: Annual, Perennial
In the US and Canada: Hawaii: introduced, Lower 48 states: introduced, Navassa Island: introduced, Pacific Basin: introduced, Puerto Rico: introduced, U.S. Virgin Islands: introduced

Photos

Photo: Dvellakat, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Davidbena, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Aris riyanto, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.