castor bean

American  

noun

1. the seed of the castor-oil plant.

2. castor-oil plant.

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castor bean British  

noun

1. another name for castor-oil plant

2. the seed of this plant

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Other Word Forms

• castor-bean adjective

Etymology

Origin of castor bean

1810–20, short for castor-oil bean

Example Sentences

The invasive species they brought — like black mustard, tree tobacco and castor bean — slowly crept into the ecosystem.

From Los Angeles Times

“Those, over there, are actually castor bean stalks,” Kleckner said as we zoomed past.

From Los Angeles Times

Around 90% of oil is valuable for industrial uses in crops like castor beans, Bates said.

From Science Daily

He was arrested after agents found a plastic bag with castor beans along with a handwritten recipe for extracting ricin from the beans, according to an FBI affidavit.

From Seattle Times

She later admitted to making the ricin - a poison made from the waste material left over from castor beans processing - at her Quebec home, and placing it into an envelope with the letter.

From BBC