What is "castor-oil plant"

Palma Christi \Pal"ma Chris"ti\ [L., palm of Christ.] (Bot.) A plant ( Ricinus communis) with ornamental peltate and palmately cleft foliage, growing as a woody perennial in the tropics, and cultivated as an herbaceous annual in temperate regions; -- called also castor-oil plant. [Sometimes corrupted into palmcrist.]

n. 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 [syn: castor bean plant, palma christi, palma christ, Ricinus communis]