BUSCADOR RECOLECTA

Digital.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC

oai:digital.csic.es:10261/154344

Images of the seeds were obtained with a scanner ScanJet 5300 C (HP). A list attached includes exact locations where seeds were gathered. This dataset is under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non commercial 4.0 International License., Castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) is the unique species of the genus Ricinus in the family Euphorbiaceae. Traditionally used in agriculture, the seeds are a source of lipid reserves, secondary metabolites and fuels in the pharmaceutic and oil industry. The first mention of Ricinus communis as a laxative can be traced back to 3500 year-old Egyptian papyrus scrolls. The seeds are poisonous containing 2.8–3% toxic substances such as ricin, a potent inhibitor of protein synthesis, and agglutinin-1. Seed morphology may give information useful in the phenotypic characterization and phylogenetic relationships between varieties and cultivars. The seeds are characterized by high variability essentially in colour, size, weight and shape. Colour varies from red, white, grey, faint chocolate to purple and high variation is exhibited by the surface area, hundred-seed weight showed a wide range of variation from 11.6 to 59.1 g. Accurate geometric description of seeds requires the comparison with geometric figures that resemble seed images. The approach has been developed in the model plant (Arabidopsis thaliana) as well as in the model legumes, Lotus japonicus and Medicago truncatula. In Capparis spinosa the comparison of seed images with the cardioid curve was helpful to describe differences between two subspecies. In R. communis, high phenotypical variability is observed in the seeds, that also represent the interesting part of plant, as oil source. In the analysis of seed shape, the model applied for the geometric description has been an ellipse., Funded through a cooperation between IRNASA-CSIC and National Institute of Research in Rural Engineering, Waters and Forests (INRGREF), University of Carthage, Tunisia., Peer reviewed