castor-oil plant

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A poisonous, ornamental shrub (Ricinus communis) native to Africa, having palmately lobed leaves and widely cultivated for its seeds, which yield an oil of commercial and medicinal value.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun large shrub of tropical Africa and Asia having large palmate leaves and spiny capsules containing seeds that are the source of castor oil and ricin; widely naturalized throughout the tropics