Another mystery plant...

[Keith_Beef]

I'm certain that I've seen this plant before, and was struck by its strangeness...

It's about calf-high (that's the calf of my leg, not a young bovine).

These are crappy pictures taken with my phone, walking home from the station tonight. I'll see if I can get some better pictures with a real camera over the weekend.

 

[Toddy]

No idea, first glance I thought castor oil plant though.

Plants we don't see often enough to lodge in the memory are hard

M

 

[Woody girl]

If it's what I think it is a datura .. thorn apple. Very poisonous.

 

[slowworm]

Yep, Thorn apple, Datura stramonium, seeds are especially poisonous.

 

[Janne]

Datura for ure!

Castor plant has smaller leaves, and the fruits are much smaller and grow in bunches, several bunches per plant.

Plenty of them here. Never tried Castor Oil though.

You guys know that during WW1, many aircraft engines had a total loss lubricating system? And had Castor oil added to the fuel?

The pilots and observers suffered from constant diarrhea, due to breathing and ingesting the C.O. remains and fumes.

 

[Toddy]

Thank you all

At least I was sure it wasn't something I would want to touch or eat.
Does it grow here ?

M

 

[Toddy]

Just been looking, and it does, though it's rare. It's a by product of bird seed say the RHS.

https://scotland-species.nbnatlas.org/species/NBNSYS0000004044

Other names include false castor oil plant.

I freely admit that I'm really only familiar with the plants that grow around me, and those that I have sought out as either food or dye plants.
Leaves an awful lot of greenery though

Threads like this are useful

 

[Keith_Beef]

Datura for ure!

Castor plant has smaller leaves, and the fruits are much smaller and grow in bunches, several bunches per plant.

Plenty of them here. Never tried Castor Oil though.

You guys know that during WW1, many aircraft engines had a total loss lubricating system? And had Castor oil added to the fuel?

The pilots and observers suffered from constant diarrhea, due to breathing and ingesting the C.O. remains and fumes.

Two-stroke petrol engines also have oil mixed with the fuel as a lubricant.

At one time, you needed to put the premixed fuel in the tank; you could occasionally find "pre-mixed" at the petrol station, but usually you would have to buy petrol in a jerry can and add a measured quantity of oil to it.

Later, vehicle manufacturers designed models with a fuel tank and an oil tank, with a mechanism for mixing the two in the correct proportions before sending the mixture to the carburettor.

And I believe that the brand name "Castrol" was chosen because the product was made from (or contained) castor oil.

 

[Keith_Beef]

It's a by product of bird seed say the RHS.

Thanks for that.

It's growing along the roadside, not so very far away from the millet, so I think it's very probable that both the millet and the thorn apple have come from bird seed.

 

[dwardo]

Amazing looking thing. Just looking at it you can see why folk dared to try the seeds and were exported off to other realities. Wiki has some interesting info, one being used as an ingredient in "witches flying ointment"