Help with mystery seeds...

The Hollyberry Lady

The Hollyberry Lady

Recently, someone anonymously mailed me some mystery seeds that were not labelled. The seeds are inside these prickly balls...


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When you remove the seeds from the pods, here is how they look...


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After 10 days, they began to sprout. Here is how they look now...


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The person said they were mystery flower seeds. Does anyone have a clue as to what they might be?...


: )
 
Looks like castor bean. Maybe the reddish/bronze variety. If it is, just a heads up- castor beans/plants are considered to be poisonous. Even though castor oil has medicinal uses, ricin (a gnarly poison) is synthesized from it as well. Cool plant though. Have some in far down in my canyon.
 
Yes, it is Castor Bean!!! I just found out on another forum I posted these shots on as well!


I remember mentioning that I was interested in the purple variety, so someone sent me them. Wonder how they got my address!

Thanks Boutros, for the confirmation. Now what exactly indicates to you that mine might be the purple variety? Is it the reddish sprouts, or something about the seeds themselves? Curious...


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Those are castor beans alright. the ricin is found inside the seeds, so look out. 8 of those could kill the toughest man alive and there's no cure.
 
Had to look it up on Wikipedia:

Castor seed is the source of castor oil, which has a wide variety of uses. The seeds contain between 40% and 60% oil that is rich in triglycerides, mainly ricinolein. The seed coat contains ricin, a toxin, which is also present in lower concentrations throughout the plant.

The toxicity of raw castor beans due to the presence of ricin is well-known. Although the lethal dose in adults is considered to be 4 to 8 seeds, reports of actual poisoning are relatively rare. According to the 2007 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records, this plant is the most poisonous in the world.
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If someone sent those to me I would have appreciated a warning...
 
Thanks for the warning, Omri.


Yeah, so many plants I've noticed are weeds in one area, and a treasured plant in another. Just depends on what's common, depending on the area.


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I've tried so much getting rid of them, but once they take a hold of an area, it's theirs to keep...
 
Wow - that's sounds pretty serious! Thanks for passing on the information Omri, because I hate it when the greenhouses sell me invasive plants, and I find out the hard way! Yikes.

I think given this information, I might just grow one in a pot, and leave it at that. As much as I like the plant - I don't want it taking over my garden!


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First of all it spreads it seeds all over, and once it gets to a certain size it'll always grow back no matter how much you try to kill it. some of ours were 5m tall.
 
Don't grow them, especially if you have children, pets or dumb people anywhere near your house. The plant is extremely toxic and envasive (like already mentioned). The plants have all but taken over Los Angeles when I was there....that and trannies....
 
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