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JIM RICHARDSON

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JIM RICHARDSON

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  • Workers repair one of Grand Coulee dam's huge turbines.
    NationalGeographic_673578.jpg
  • Visitors compare the cone of Mt. St. Helens with an earlier photo of it before the eruptionk. Washington state, USA
    NationalGeographic_516112.jpg
  • Farmers in corn field at a combine harvester demonstration at Husker Harvest Days in Nebraska.
    MM6772_0059.jpg
  • Street performers at Edinburgh Fringe. "National No-Smiling Day" a comical send up that was very popular.
    No-Smiling Day (P).jpg
  • The Padstow 'Obby Oss day is an ancient May Day celebration, perhaps the oldest continuous observance in Europe, going back at least 800 years.  The Oss (horse) dance through the streets of the Cornish village bringing in summer, very much a pagan fertility celebration.
    Cornwall_20080502_2856.jpg
  • Mazey Day celebrations in the streets of Penzance as the Golowan band draws Penglaze out onto the street where it creats havoc in the serpent dance. Children from the community schools take part in the parade.  Moch Mayor Miss Cornish Pasty marches in the parade.
    MM7189 6-26-04 3472.jpg
  • The Petite Tromenie is one of the most important pardons in Brittany, ancient holy days with Celtic roots where the relics of the church are paraded out to ancient holy sites like holy wells, or as here in Locronan, up the mountain to where St. Ronan was killed by a witch.  It is a big day of celebration in the town and people like Annie and Rene Louboutin dress in traditional costume, walk the route and celebrate with friends afterwards.
    MM7189 20050710 36234.jpg
  • The Petite Tromenie is one of the most important pardons in Brittany, ancient holy days with Celtic roots where the relics of the church are paraded out to ancient holy sites like holy wells, or as here in Locronan, up the mountain to where St. Ronan was killed by a witch.  It is a big day of celebration in the town and people like Annie and Rene Louboutin dress in traditional costume, walk the route and celebrate with friends afterwards.
    MM7189 20050710 36406.jpg
  • The Petite Tromenie is one of the most important pardons in Brittany, ancient holy days with Celtic roots where the relics of the church are paraded out to ancient holy sites like holy wells, or as here in Locronan, up the mountain to where St. Ronan was killed by a witch.  It is a big day of celebration in the town and people like Annie and Rene Louboutin dress in traditional costume, walk the route and celebrate with friends afterwards.
    MM7189 20050710 36172.jpg
  • The Petite Tromenie is one of the most important pardons in Brittany, ancient holy days with Celtic roots where the relics of the church are paraded out to ancient holy sites like holy wells, or as here in Locronan, up the mountain to where St. Ronan was killed by a witch.  It is a big day of celebration in the town and people like Annie and Rene Louboutin dress in traditional costume, walk the route and celebrate with friends afterwards.
    MM7189 20050710 35907.jpg
  • Inside a Palloza in the ancient Celtic village of Piernado in Los Ancares, the eastern mountainous region of Galicia. Cows are led to pasture in the morning and come home later in the day on their own, this one much later.  Here the old Celtic ways are still pretty fresh and the current generation still uses the old Pallozas, thatched stone houses that were home to livestock as well, even if they have built newer living quarters next door.  Jose (check this name) was born in this palloza and still uses it everyday, keeping his cattle and chickens here.  Note the Roman cart, still used in some areas of Galicia.
    MM7189 20050721 39302.jpg
  • Wild horse are gathered from the hills and brought to a coral at the Rapa Das Bestas in Vimianzo, Galicia.  On the second day the horses are gathered in the coral where teams of five men wrestle them to the ground so they can have their manes and tails trimmed.  This ancient tradition as passed from economic necessity to popular cultural tradition, the asociacion now making the event and increasingly popular attraction.  The wild west of the Celtic World.  The big feast features beef, pork, and (wouldn't you know) horse meat, the most popular.
    MM7189 20050717 38420.jpg
  • Market day in Goro, Ethiopia where women bring grain to sell and farmers bring cattle and other livestock. The cattle market is very busy with sellers and buyers mingling side by side with the animals. <br />
<br />
The grain may be ground into flower or may be used as seed for the next season's crop. They pour the grain to show it off and to further winnow and clean it to make it more valuable. Some were selling corn and chickpeas, but many were selling the typically Ethiopian grain called teff. <br />
<br />
Some choose to sell their grain directly to a broker or middleman rather that sit all afternoon in the hot sun. They can be seen with their bags of grain on a scale, waiting anxiously to see what price they will get for it.
    MM7753_20101028_40661.jpg
  • Ranch hands gather at the stock tank after a day of branding in the Sandhills of Nebraska.
    Stock Tank Break.jpg
  • A father and son ride their tractor home after a day of work in the fields of their farm in Kansas.
    Ogalla Aquifer Camera Scans 20220272.jpg
  • Keepers from ther Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City, Kansas take the elephants, Moki and Chana, for a swim in the World's Largest Free Municipal Cement Bottom Swimming Pool.  The pool was just closed for the season and since the zoo does not have a pool for the Elephants this is their one bath of the year.  Keepers in swimming with the elephants were Robin Neff and Nick McDaniel.  Up on the bank were Jeff Bullock and Dave Wade.  The Elephants are 10-year-old Africans and have been at the zoo for 8 years.  The zoo gets some 210,000 visitors a year.  On a previous day they had 3,000 people to see the elephants swimmin g.
    Ogalla Aquifer Camera Scans 20220064.jpg
  • St. Kilda is a small group of islands some 40 miles west of the Outer Hebrides off the northwest coast of Scotland.  It is famous for its bird colonies and the story of the evacuation of the people of St. Kilda in 1930, after thousands of years of human occupation.  A beautiful day.
    BritishIsles_2008-08-05_4085-Edit.jpg
  • The dramatic bay at Uig creates a huge beach as the tides drain out every day on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis. Flowers grow profusely the machair, soils formed by blow shell sand from the beaches.  The surrounding dunes are held in place by colonizing grasses.  The dunes are also famous as the site where the Lewis Chessmen were found, thousand year old chess pieces found in the dunes.
    MM7701_20080630_6156.jpg
  • Around the ancient Celtic village of Piernado in Los Ancares, the eastern mountainous region of Galicia. Cows are led to pasture in the morning and come home later in the day on their own, this one much later.  Here the old Celtic ways are still pretty fresh and the current generation still uses the old Pallozas, thatched stone houses that were home to livestock as well, even if they have built newer living quarters next door.
    MM7189 20050721 39650 (2).jpg
  • Market day in Goro, Ethiopia where women bring grain to sell and farmers bring cattle and other livestock. The cattle market is very busy with sellers and buyers mingling side by side with the animals. <br />
<br />
The grain may be ground into flower or may be used as seed for the next season's crop. They pour the grain to show it off and to further winnow and clean it to make it more valuable. Some were selling corn and chickpeas, but many were selling the typically Ethiopian grain called teff. <br />
<br />
Some choose to sell their grain directly to a broker or middleman rather that sit all afternoon in the hot sun. They can be seen with their bags of grain on a scale, waiting anxiously to see what price they will get for it. <br />
<br />
<br />
Contact: Woudyalew Mulatu<br />
ILRI Ethiopia<br />
w.mulatu@cgiar.org<br />
Mobile: +251 911 40 91 89<br />
PO Box 5689<br />
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia<br />
  <br />
Contact: Shirley Tarawali<br />
Theme Director - People, Livestock, and the Evironment<br />
ILRI Ethiopia<br />
s.tarawali@cgiar.org<br />
Tel: +251 11 617 2221<br />
Tel: +251 91 164 5738<br />
PO Box 5689<br />
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
    MM7753_20101028_40661.jpg
  • Market day in Goro, Ethiopia where women bring grain to sell and farmers bring cattle and other livestock. The cattle market is very busy with sellers and buyers mingling side by side with the animals. <br />
<br />
The grain may be ground into flower or may be used as seed for the next season's crop. They pour the grain to show it off and to further winnow and clean it to make it more valuable. Some were selling corn and chickpeas, but many were selling the typically Ethiopian grain called teff. <br />
<br />
Some choose to sell their grain directly to a broker or middleman rather that sit all afternoon in the hot sun. They can be seen with their bags of grain on a scale, waiting anxiously to see what price they will get for it. <br />
<br />
<br />
Contact: Woudyalew Mulatu<br />
ILRI Ethiopia<br />
w.mulatu@cgiar.org<br />
Mobile: +251 911 40 91 89<br />
PO Box 5689<br />
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia<br />
  <br />
Contact: Shirley Tarawali<br />
Theme Director - People, Livestock, and the Evironment<br />
ILRI Ethiopia<br />
s.tarawali@cgiar.org<br />
Tel: +251 11 617 2221<br />
Tel: +251 91 164 5738<br />
PO Box 5689<br />
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
    MM7753_20101028_40204.jpg
  • Market day in Goro, Ethiopia where women bring grain to sell and farmers bring cattle and other livestock. The cattle market is very busy with sellers and buyers mingling side by side with the animals. <br />
<br />
The grain may be ground into flower or may be used as seed for the next season's crop. They pour the grain to show it off and to further winnow and clean it to make it more valuable. Some were selling corn and chickpeas, but many were selling the typically Ethiopian grain called teff. <br />
<br />
Some choose to sell their grain directly to a broker or middleman rather that sit all afternoon in the hot sun. They can be seen with their bags of grain on a scale, waiting anxiously to see what price they will get for it.
    MM7753_20101028_40204.jpg
  • The Camino de Santiago on a foggy morning near Portomarin, Galicia.  Pilgrims hike along the trail in the thousands making for an almost endless stream each day. Most of the Camino goes through rural areas like this and is one of the very best ways to see the heart of Galicia.
    Galicia 20050802 3176.jpg
  • Children splash in a stock tank for watering horses on a hot day in Nebraska.
    Ogalla Aquifer Camera Scans 20220102.jpg
  • A huge crowd gathers on the plaza at the cathedral in Santiago de Compastela for the fireworks display on St. James Day.<br />
<br />
©Jim Richardson  All rights reserved<br />
<br />
You can see more of my photography at www.jimrichardsonphotography.com  <br />
<br />
<br />
©Jim Richardson  All rights reserved. You can see more of my work at:  www.jimrichardsonphotography.com<br />
<br />
Or follow me on Instagram @JimRichardsonNG
    Galicia 20050724 0189.jpg
  • A cow comes home late at night in the ancient Celtic village of Piernado in Los Ancares, the eastern mountainous region of Galicia. Cows are led to pasture in the morning and come home later in the day on their own, this one much later.  Here the old Celtic ways are still pretty fresh and the current generation still uses the old Pallozas, thatched stone houses that were home to livestock as well, even if they have built newer living quarters next door.
    MM7189 20050720 39201.jpg
  • Morning at St. Michaels Mount, at Marazion, Cornwall.  Tides make it an island twice a day.  An ancient Celtic hill fort which became a Celtic religious site and then site of the castle.
    MM7189 6-25-04 2165.jpg
  • Wild horse are gathered from the hills and brought to a coral at the Rapa Das Bestas in Vimianzo, Galicia.  On the second day the horses are gathered in the coral where teams of five men wrestle them to the ground so they can have their manes and tails trimmed.  This ancient tradition as passed from economic necessity to popular cultural tradition, the asociacion now making the event and increasingly popular attraction.  The wild west of the Celtic World.  The big feast features beef, pork, and (wouldn't you know) horse meat, the most popular.
    MM7189 20050717 38384.jpg
  • Hauling Firewood in the villages around Keita, Niger. These women walked ten kilometers to get firewood for cooking, every day
    Hauling Firewood.jpg
  • A brilliant day in Svalbard, with calm seas among the ice flows making great reflections.
    Arctic Svalbard Flows.jpg
  • Celebrating windmills at Windmill Country Days in Hyannis, Nebraska.
    Ogalla Aquifer Camera Scans 20220209.jpg
  • Farmers watch a new combine demonstration at Husker Harvest Days in Nebraka.  Farmers are intrested in seeing how well the combine gets all the grain, deals with clogging, and handles chaf.
    MM6772_0059.jpg
  • Big model of a Hereford cow at Beef Empire Days, Garden City, Kansas
    Ogalla Aquifer Camera Scans 20220067.jpg
  • Cattle working contest for teams of "Feedlot Cowboys" and "Feedlot Cowgirls" from area feedlots at Beef Empire Days, Garden City, Kansas.  They have to "Doctor" three steers in shortest possible time. Beef Empire Days is the major celebration in Garden City, which owes its wealth to the beef industry which was made possible by the waters of the Ogallala Aquifer.
    Ogalla Aquifer Camera Scans 20220131.jpg
  • Farmers watch a new combine demonstration at Husker Harvest Days in Nebraka.  Farmers are intrested in seeing how well the combine gets all the grain, deals with clogging, and handles chaf.
    Ogalla Aquifer Camera Scans 20220065.jpg
  • For Horse Plowing demonstration contact:  Spencer Yeoman, 10185 E. Farm School Rd., Davis IL  61019<br />
815 297-3866<br />
email:  cobblers7000@yahoo.comDemonstrations at the Farm Technology Show in Albany, Wisconsin<br />
<br />
Contact:  Glenn Thompson, General Manager, Wisconsin Farm Technology Days, Inc.<br />
1450 Linden Drive, Room 146<br />
Madison, WI  53706<br />
608 262-2966<br />
Cell:  608 295-7495
    MM6977_070920_17374.jpg
  • Threshing rice in a field in Bali. This woman is doing second harvest, trying to get the last of the rice from the bundles that have already been threshed by the women in the background. This is essentially charity gleaning, and she can take home (for free) up to 7kg of the rice. About one big bowl, which might feed her for a couple of days. <br />
<br />
Her name is Dadong Angga.
    MM8154_20131020_19409.jpg
  • Tayitis Mohammed mixes injera out of teff flower and water in her house in Fontanina near Kombulcha in the Wollo region of the Ethiopian highlands. Injera is the staple bread of Ethiopia, which makes teff a valuable grain. Smoke from the kitchen fire made the rays of the setting sun show up brightly in the dark cookng area to the side of the main room of the stick and clay built house. The walls of the house are caulked with teff straw as well.<br />
<br />
The injera batter, a bit runny like pancake batter, is then transfer to the bucket last used to "ferment" the injera for a couple of days, picking up the residual yeasts in the bucket and providing leavening to the bread.<br />
<br />
Contact: Genene Gezu<br />
Program Coordinator<br />
Ethio-Organic Seed Action (EOSA)<br />
Tel: +251 11 550 22 88<br />
Mobile: +251 91 1 79 56 22<br />
genenegezu@yahoo.com<br />
shigenene@gmail.com<br />
PO Box 5512<br />
Addis Aababa, Ethiopia
    MM7753_20101102_46771.jpg
  • Tayitis Mohammed mixes injera out of teff flower and water in her house in Fontanina near Kombulcha in the Wollo region of the Ethiopian highlands. Injera is the staple bread of Ethiopia, which makes teff a valuable grain. Smoke from the kitchen fire made the rays of the setting sun show up brightly in the dark cookng area to the side of the main room of the stick and clay built house. The walls of the house are caulked with teff straw as well.<br />
<br />
The injera batter, a bit runny like pancake batter, is then transfer to the bucket last used to "ferment" the injera for a couple of days, picking up the residual yeasts in the bucket and providing leavening to the bread.
    MM7753_20101102_46771.jpg
  • Hawa Yesuf cooks injera over a traditional oven built for the purpose in her house in the Fontanina area near Kombulcha, Ethiopia. <br />
<br />
Injera is a yeast-risen flat bread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. It is traditionally made out of teff flour. It is traditionally eaten in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The batter is usually mixed several days in advance and allowed to "ferment", using the residual yeasts in the storage bucket to add leavening. <br />
<br />
Cooking is fast, with the batter being poured on in a circular motion from the outside spiraling inwards. The a cover is put over it allowing the rising steam to contribute to the cooking. In only a couple of minutes the bread is done and gently slid onto a mat to transfer to a basket for cooling. Many of the injera are cooked at one time and stored for several days consumption. <br />
<br />
Stews, spices, meats and vegetables are served on the injera, which serves to absorb the juices. Pieces are used to pick up the food, so that the injera serves as untensil, and tablecloth, all of which is eaten.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Contact: Genene Gezu<br />
Program Coordinator<br />
Ethio-Organic Seed Action (EOSA)<br />
Tel: +251 11 550 22 88<br />
Mobile: +251 91 1 79 56 22<br />
genenegezu@yahoo.com<br />
shigenene@gmail.com<br />
PO Box 5512<br />
Addis Aababa, Ethiopia
    MM7753_20101102_45132.jpg
  • Hawa Yesuf cooks injera over a traditional oven built for the purpose in her house in the Fontanina area near Kombulcha, Ethiopia. <br />
<br />
Injera is a yeast-risen flat bread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. It is traditionally made out of teff flour. It is traditionally eaten in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The batter is usually mixed several days in advance and allowed to "ferment", using the residual yeasts in the storage bucket to add leavening. <br />
<br />
Cooking is fast, with the batter being poured on in a circular motion from the outside spiraling inwards. The a cover is put over it allowing the rising steam to contribute to the cooking. In only a couple of minutes the bread is done and gently slid onto a mat to transfer to a basket for cooling. Many of the injera are cooked at one time and stored for several days consumption. <br />
<br />
Stews, spices, meats and vegetables are served on the injera, which serves to absorb the juices. Pieces are used to pick up the food, so that the injera serves as untensil, and tablecloth, all of which is eaten.
    MM7753_20101102_45132.jpg
  • Tayitis Mohammed mixes injera out of teff flower and water in her house in Fontanina near Kombulcha in the Wollo region of the Ethiopian highlands. Injera is the staple bread of Ethiopia, which makes teff a valuable grain. Smoke from the kitchen fire made the rays of the setting sun show up brightly in the dark cookng area to the side of the main room of the stick and clay built house. The walls of the house are caulked with teff straw as well.<br />
<br />
The injera batter, a bit runny like pancake batter, is then transfer to the bucket last used to "ferment" the injera for a couple of days, picking up the residual yeasts in the bucket and providing leavening to the bread.
    MM7753_20101102_46771.jpg
  • Hawa Yesuf cooks injera over a traditional oven built for the purpose in her house in the Fontanina area near Kombulcha, Ethiopia. <br />
<br />
Injera is a yeast-risen flat bread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. It is traditionally made out of teff flour. It is traditionally eaten in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The batter is usually mixed several days in advance and allowed to "ferment", using the residual yeasts in the storage bucket to add leavening. <br />
<br />
Cooking is fast, with the batter being poured on in a circular motion from the outside spiraling inwards. The a cover is put over it allowing the rising steam to contribute to the cooking. In only a couple of minutes the bread is done and gently slid onto a mat to transfer to a basket for cooling. Many of the injera are cooked at one time and stored for several days consumption. <br />
<br />
Stews, spices, meats and vegetables are served on the injera, which serves to absorb the juices. Pieces are used to pick up the food, so that the injera serves as untensil, and tablecloth, all of which is eaten.
    MM7753_20101102_45143.jpg
  • Demonstration of horse plowing with a traditional moldboard plow at the Wisconsin Farm Technology days in Albany, Wisconsin.  Such plowing always left broad slaps of earth like this that would then be disked and/or raked in subsequent tillage to break them up and make the field ready for planting.<br />
<br />
<br />
For Horse Plowing demonstration contact:  Spencer Yeoman, 10185 E. Farm School Rd., Davis IL  61019<br />
815 297-3866<br />
email:  cobblers7000@yahoo.comDemonstrations at the Farm Technology Show in Albany, Wisconsin<br />
<br />
Contact:  Glenn Thompson, General Manager, Wisconsin Farm Technology Days, Inc.<br />
1450 Linden Drive, Room 146<br />
Madison, WI  53706<br />
608 262-2966<br />
Cell:  608 295-7495
    MM6977_070920_17374.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae) - castor oil plant; native to tropical Africa, naturalized throughout the tropics - seeds; the seeds of the castor oil plant, called 'castor beans', contain a very valuable oil that is used both as a purgative as well as a lubricant for jet engines and heavy machinery. The seeds are also infamous for containing ricin, one of the strongest poisons found in nature. One milligram can already be enough to kill an adult. At their micropylar end the seeds bear a fatty elaiosome to attract ants for dispersal; seeds c. 12mm long.<br />
Some interesting facts about Ricinus:<br />
Ricin: The seeds from the castor bean plant, Ricinus communis, are poisonous to people, animals and insects. One of the main toxic proteins is "ricin", named by Stillmark in 1888 when he tested the bean's extract on red blood cells and saw them agglutinate. Now we know that the agglutination was due to another toxin that was also present, called RCA (Ricinus communis agglutinin). Ricin is a potent cytotoxin but a weak hemagglutinin, whereas RCA is a weak cytotoxin and a powerful hemagglutinin. Poisoning by ingestion of the castor bean is due to ricin, not RCA, because RCA does not penetrate the intestinal wall, and does not affect red blood cells unless given intravenously. If RCA is injected into the blood, it will cause the red blood cells to agglutinate and burst by hemolysis. Perhaps just one milligram of ricin can kill an adult. The symptoms of human poisoning begin within a few hours of ingestion. The symptoms are: abdominal pain, vomiting and (sometimes bloody) diarrhea. Within several days there is severe dehydration, a decrease in urine, and a decrease in blood pressure. If death has not occurred in 3-5 days, the victim usually recovers.<br />
Castor oil: Castor beans are pressed to extract castor oil which is used for medicinal purposes.
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11952.jpg
  • Threshing rice in a field in Bali. This woman is doing second harvest, trying to get the last of the rice from the bundles that have already been threshed by the women in the background. This is essentially charity gleaning, and she can take home (for free) up to 7kg of the rice. About one big bowl, which might feed her for a couple of days.
    MM8154_20131020_19409 - Version 4.jpg
  • Tayitis Mohammed mixes injera out of teff flower and water in her house in Fontanina near Kombulcha in the Wollo region of the Ethiopian highlands. Injera is the staple bread of Ethiopia, which makes teff a valuable grain. Smoke from the kitchen fire made the rays of the setting sun show up brightly in the dark cookng area to the side of the main room of the stick and clay built house. The walls of the house are caulked with teff straw as well.<br />
<br />
The injera batter, a bit runny like pancake batter, is then transfer to the bucket last used to "ferment" the injera for a couple of days, picking up the residual yeasts in the bucket and providing leavening to the bread.
    MM7753_20101102_46771.jpg
  • Roping horses for the days work on a ranch in the Sandhills of Nebraska.
    MM7004_0035.jpg
  • Hawa Yesuf cooks injera over a traditional oven built for the purpose in her house in the Fontanina area near Kombulcha, Ethiopia. <br />
<br />
Injera is a yeast-risen flat bread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. It is traditionally made out of teff flour. It is traditionally eaten in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The batter is usually mixed several days in advance and allowed to "ferment", using the residual yeasts in the storage bucket to add leavening. <br />
<br />
Cooking is fast, with the batter being poured on in a circular motion from the outside spiraling inwards. The a cover is put over it allowing the rising steam to contribute to the cooking. In only a couple of minutes the bread is done and gently slid onto a mat to transfer to a basket for cooling. Many of the injera are cooked at one time and stored for several days consumption. <br />
<br />
Stews, spices, meats and vegetables are served on the injera, which serves to absorb the juices. Pieces are used to pick up the food, so that the injera serves as untensil, and tablecloth, all of which is eaten.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Contact: Genene Gezu<br />
Program Coordinator<br />
Ethio-Organic Seed Action (EOSA)<br />
Tel: +251 11 550 22 88<br />
Mobile: +251 91 1 79 56 22<br />
genenegezu@yahoo.com<br />
shigenene@gmail.com<br />
PO Box 5512<br />
Addis Aababa, Ethiopia
    MM7753_20101102_45143.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae) - castor oil plant; native to tropical Africa, naturalized throughout the tropics - seeds; the seeds of the castor oil plant, called 'castor beans', contain a very valuable oil that is used both as a purgative as well as a lubricant for jet engines and heavy machinery. The seeds are also infamous for containing ricin, one of the strongest poisons found in nature. One milligram can already be enough to kill an adult. At their micropylar end the seeds bear a fatty elaiosome to attract ants for dispersal; seeds c. 12mm long.<br />
Some interesting facts about Ricinus:<br />
Ricin: The seeds from the castor bean plant, Ricinus communis, are poisonous to people, animals and insects. One of the main toxic proteins is "ricin", named by Stillmark in 1888 when he tested the bean's extract on red blood cells and saw them agglutinate. Now we know that the agglutination was due to another toxin that was also present, called RCA (Ricinus communis agglutinin). Ricin is a potent cytotoxin but a weak hemagglutinin, whereas RCA is a weak cytotoxin and a powerful hemagglutinin. Poisoning by ingestion of the castor bean is due to ricin, not RCA, because RCA does not penetrate the intestinal wall, and does not affect red blood cells unless given intravenously. If RCA is injected into the blood, it will cause the red blood cells to agglutinate and burst by hemolysis. Perhaps just one milligram of ricin can kill an adult. The symptoms of human poisoning begin within a few hours of ingestion. The symptoms are: abdominal pain, vomiting and (sometimes bloody) diarrhea. Within several days there is severe dehydration, a decrease in urine, and a decrease in blood pressure. If death has not occurred in 3-5 days, the victim usually recovers.<br />
Castor oil: Castor beans are pressed to extract castor oil which is used for medicinal purposes. Ricin does not partition into the oil because
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11952.jpg