dannyboy602
Well-Known Member
A favorite of mine, Ricinus communis or Castor Oil plant has been in the news again lately. Recently, extracted purified ricin was mailed to the president and another politician in an effort to stir attention to anti gun laws being mulled about in the legislature. (As if guys at the top even open their own mail) With the way our rights are being slowly whittled away can you see a day when the powers that be ban some garden plants because they could be used as weapons of mass destruction? I can think of a dozen plants that are just as toxic. This just happens to be one people have heard of. But the idea of it being banned could happen. Or could it? I would like your thoughts on this as it is the point of my thread. Can some garden plants be reclassified as nerve agents and be banned from home gardens? How scary is that?
I would hate to lose this one. It grows as an annual in US zone 7a where I live. I've seen it tower over 12ft in tropical areas. The red panicles are very interesting. The color is however, the main reason I grow the plant. As well as the size and shape of the huge, tropical like leaf. I actually ate a seed before I even read it could be poisonous. A long time ago, when I was wandering through a botanical garden. I got a nice case of the runs. That was about it. I wouldn't do it again though after some reading.
I would hate to lose this one. It grows as an annual in US zone 7a where I live. I've seen it tower over 12ft in tropical areas. The red panicles are very interesting. The color is however, the main reason I grow the plant. As well as the size and shape of the huge, tropical like leaf. I actually ate a seed before I even read it could be poisonous. A long time ago, when I was wandering through a botanical garden. I got a nice case of the runs. That was about it. I wouldn't do it again though after some reading.
