The Erand plant, scientifically known as Ricinus communis,

Castor is very common in our country. Found almost all over India. The farm fence is also made of castor plants. There are 2 main types of castor. One white and the other red, its roots are long, fringed, light in weight, soft, and of a mild taste. Leaves are large and smooth and green in colour. It is seen in 8 to 10 parts of the leaf. It is all edged and profusely lined and toothed. Those leaves are pictorial. On its fruit there are soft thorns. When ripe, it appears round green in color. And when dry, its color is wheatish. There are 3 seeds inside the pod. The seeds are coloured with pale, brown, and black speckles. The seeds are oval and flattened. After removing the seed coat, a white oily seed comes out.

It contains 50% oil. If its beans are crushed and rubbed with a little water, then castor oil comes out. It has an oily and nauseous taste. Castor is extracted in 2 ways. One is to remove the yolk in the Ghani. (Cold Press method), And the other is heated and extracted. But castor extracted from Ghani is very useful. It becomes lighter after cooling. And the rapidity decreases and is not as harmful as other laxatives. Castor is yellow in colour, and sticky. It has excellent properties when taken with other medicines.

Another type of red colour castor is very beneficial. Its seeds are light, white and small. It is not a pollutant after the seed has been purified. So boil them in milk and use them after completely purifying them.

Every part of castor is used, its roots, seeds, oil, are used. Its roots are similar to Pokharamul.  So the traders in the market give “Pokharmul” instead of castor roots.

One of the most distinctive features of the Erand plant is its unique fruit, which is a spiky, green, and spiny capsule containing seeds known as castor beans. These beans are the primary source of castor oil, a valuable and widely used product derived from this plant.