Castor Oil Bean, 'Carmencita'

Sun Exposure: full sun, partial shade Level of Care: easy Max Plant Height: 8 feet

Burnished chocolate leaves with red veins make for a bold tropical look in the garden. Popular in Victorian times, they looked very much at home planted on both sides of the front entrance. Today we can plant them in large pots, or as a tall hedge or specimen plant. The leaves are up to 2 feet wide and the stems are deep red. Insignificant flowers are followed by cherry red bristly seed pods which stay on the plant until frost, remaining very decorative. Called Palma Christi or Palm of Christ in the 1800s, it was grown, not just for ornament, but for the oil the seeds produce. Self sows. Seeds highly poisonous.