トウゴマ：Castor bean plant

数年前から桂川の河川敷にトウゴマの生育を見ています。トウゴマはヒマシ油の原料として知られていますが、種子は猛毒のリシン (ricin) を含み、その扱いに注意しなければなりません。実際にこの毒素が暗殺や生物兵器に使われた例が報告されています。先日河川敷を歩いていて、そのトウゴマの枯れた株を見つけました。これは種子がまだ熟さないうちに枯れたようです。花はきれいですが、果実には剛毛が生え、何やらよからぬ雰囲気が漂っています。

For several years now, I have been seeing castor bean plants growing on the banks of the Katsura River. Castor bean seeds are well known as a source of castor oil, but the seeds contain ricin, a poisonous toxin that must be handled with extreme care. There have been reports of this toxin being used in assassinations and biological weapons. A few days ago, I was walking along a riverbed and found a dead plant of castor beans. It seems that the seeds had withered before they ripened. The flowers of this plant are beautiful and exotic, but the fruit is covered with bristly hairs, giving it an unpleasant and eerie appearance.

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Photos 2022-02-26