Castor or Castor?

In doing some research for my next book (on baneful herbs), I came across some … interesting information.

I don’t know about you but when I think of “Castor”, I think of the godawful oil (made from the plant Ricinus communis) Mom used to pour down my throat at the first hint that I might be constipated. Now in later years, the poisonous bean of that same plant, or perhaps the poison Ricin (made from powdered beans) come to mind.

Muddling my way through theUS Dispensatory of 1834 I came across a...