Ricinus communis L.

Spice Female flower detail Male flower detail Flower

Family: EUPHORBIACEAE

Genus: Ricinus

Catalan common name: Cagamuja. Cagamutxo. Enfiter. Figuera infernal. Ricí. Riciner.

Spanish common name: Higuera infernal. Ricino.

Province distribution: Alacant. Balearic Islands. Barcelona. Castelló. Girona. Tarragona. València.

Distribution in the islands: Mallorca. Menorca. Ibiza.

General distribution (Phytogeography): Africa

Uses and properties: Medicinal.

IUCN Category: LCLeast concern

Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Life-forms: Macrophanerophyte.

Habitats: Cultivated fields, path and road sides, disturbed zones. Cultivated species. Non-saline wetlands (intermittent watercourses, streams, artesian wells, ditches). Gardens and sometimes subespontaneous.

Characteristics: A tree originally from Africa can be found either in the cultivated form or growing spontaneously in the islands. Rapidly spotted by it s large palm-shaped leaves, with a petiole that emerges form the lamina, not the margin (pelate leaf), which often take on reddish hues. The inflorescence is also in reddish tones.