Garden Detective

Cornell Cooperative Extension photo

Ricinus communis, the Castor Bean plant, is widely grown in California, and sometimes found planted as annuals as far north as Nova Scotia. The plant has become somewhat notorious because it contains two toxins that are extremely lethal. Its a real danger to children, pets and even insects. OK, so maybe you won't be shedding any tears over dead insects, but I thought you should know anyway.

Though the plant, with its huge palm-like leaves, is quite an eye catcher in the garden, I say it's not worth it. A curious child wandering in the backyard could die from picking and eating a couple of beans. That's food for thought.

Ingestion of as little as 500 micrograms of the toxin ricin (which amounts to the size of a pinhead) can kill an adult, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. It destroys cell proteins and causes diarrhea and vomiting within 6-8 hours, and death a couple of days later. Inhaling it causes severe flu-like symptoms in the same time period and then fluid fills the lungs and skin turns blue. It's actually considered a biological weapon and is prohibited by the Chemical Weapons Convention. Cornell University has called it "one of the most poisonous naturally occurring substances known."

Ricinus communis agglutinin is another toxin present in Castor Bean. It affects red blood cells. An injection of that protein causes blood clots.

But it's not all bad. Oil from the beans (not technically beans, but let's just call them that for simplicity's sake) is used in food additives, prescription medications, laxatives, mold inhibitors, animal repellents (some say the plants repel moles in the garden, but I haven't seen any proof) and food packaging. Ever hear of Castor Oil? It'll help keep you, er, regular, but it won't kill you.

So, why am I writing about this today? Police found vials of a white powder in a Las Vegas hotel room on Valentine's Day. Oh, and in the same room they found a man who was unconscious. And a dead dog. Castor beans also were found in the room. An investigation of the powder began yesterday, and 2 preliminary tests concluded the substance was ricin. It seems the man somehow fell victim to it. The dog probably died from unrelated dehydration. Don't ask.

Though details are sketchy, and no one seems to know how the ricin and castor beans got into the hotel room, it seems possible they were left behind by a previous guest. Scary. I, for one, will be looking in the closet and under the bed from now on whenever I check into a hotel. The FBI has ruled out terrorism, but conspiracy theorists online today are in a panic.

Frankly, I think it was just a pissed off gardener.