Castor Beans (Ricinus) - A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Castor Bean is an annual native to the southeastern Mediterranean and East Africa. Its Latin name, Ricinus, means tick because the seeds are said to resemble a blood filled tick. It is an ancient plant that has been cultivated for thousands of years and considered by many civilizations to be an important medicinal herb. Seeds have been found in Egyptian tombs dating to 4000 BC. The Greeks and the Romans used the oil for wound healing, but the Greeks believed that the oil should only be used externally. In the Middle Ages, the Europeans used the oil as a kind of liniment and also as a lubricant. In the 18th century, the extraordinary capabilities of castor
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