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Castor bean (Dysphania christii)

Description

The species of genus Dysphania are annual plants or short-lived perennials. They are covered with stalked oder sessile glandular hairs and therefore with aromatic scent (or malodorous to some people). Some species have uniseriate multicellular trichomes, rarely becoming glabrous. The stems are erect, ascending, decumbent, or prostrate and mostly branched.The alternate leaves are mostly petiolate, (the upper ones sometimes sessile). The leaf blade is linear, lanceolate, oblanceolate, ovate, or elliptic, often pinnately lobed, with cuneate or truncate base, anentire, dentate, or serrate margins.The Inflorescences are terminal, loose, simple or compound cymes or dense axillary glomerules. Bracts are absent or reduced. Flowers are bisexual (rarely unisexual), with 1-5 tepals connate only basally or fused to form sac, 1-5 stamens, and a superior ovary with 1-3 filiform stigmas.The fruit is often enclosed in perianth. The membranous pericarp is adherent or nonadherent to the horizontal or vertical, subglobose or lenticular seed. The seed coat is smooth or rugose. The annular or incompletely annular embryo is surrounding the copious farinose perisperm.

Taxonomic tree

  • Domain: Eukarya

    • Kingdom: Plantae

      • Phylum:

        • Class: Magnoliopsida

          • Order: Caryophyllales

            • Family: Amaranthaceae

              • Genus: Dysphania