One dicotyledonous, monoecious, very variable species, with watery juice, probably from tropical Africa. The leaf is large, 1-3 feet long and palmately lobed. The plant is mostly cultivated for its foliage effect. Castor bean fruit is covered with soft spines and the seeds contain ricin, a poisonous principle if eaten. Castor bean oil from pressed seeds was used by Egyptians as an unguent base as well as a fuel for lamps. Today, oil extracted from seeds is used medicinally and commercially in ink, lubrication, soap, and paint. The major castor bean oil producing country is India, but some is grown in the United States, especially in Oklahoma.