Dear Master Gardener: I was given a small plant as a gift last spring. It grew into a gigantic plant with striking leaves and spiky pink seed pods. I've learned it is a castor bean plant. I'd like to ...

Sweltering heat and bright sunlight do not a tropical garden make, even if many common garden plants, from marigolds to okra, do hail from the tropics. That tropical look comes from lush, bold foliage ...

A: The castor bean, Ricinus communis, gets a really evil reputation as the source of the poison, ricin. Yes, it can be used in that way but it is also the source of castor oil, used in industry as a ...

The most poisonous plant on Earth, commonly known as castor bean, is growing along Roscoe Boulevard, between White Oak and Encino avenues, in Northridge. Did I say growing? In fact, several robust ...