> Hi Keith,
>
> Thank you, I will try to visit all the sites you enumerated.
>
> Danny E.
>
The castor bean or castor plant belongs to the Euphorbia Family
(Euphorbiaceae), a diverse and economically-important family of
flowering plants. Although the castor plant has a watery sap, many
members of the family contain a poisonous milky sap or latex that
exudes copiously from cut stems or leaves. In fact, the most important
world source of natural rubber comes from several members of
the Euphorbia Family, especially the para rubber tree (Hevea
brasiliensis). Other economically important plants include tapioca
from
the large storage roots of the tapioca plant (Manihot esculenta), and
tung oil from the seeds of the Chinese tung tree (Aleurites
fordii). Tung oil is one of the world's finest and most durable
finishes for wood. Another species of Aleurites (A. molucanna), is
called the candlenut tree because the oil-rich seeds were used for
candles in Hawaii and other Polynesian islands.
The seed of candlenut (Aleurites molucanna) contains about 50 percent
oil and burns like a candle. The ancient Polynesians
brought this tree to the Hawaiian Islands where it has become
naturalized. The dried nuts were cracked open and the seeds
were skewered onto the midrib of a coconut frond (or slender
bamboo stem) and set on fire. [Since they contain about 50
percent unsaturated oil, the seeds ignite readily.] The
Polynesians used them for candles that burned for about 45 minutes.
Hawaiians also extracted the oil for many other uses: to shine
and waterproof wooden bowls, to mix with charcoal to make
black canoe paint, to burn as torches, and to burn in stone lamps
for light.
The candlenut is also known as the kukui-nut in Hawaii, and the large
seeds are polished and strung into beautiful necklaces and
bracelets. In fact, this tree has so many uses that it is the national
tree of Hawaii. Throughout the islands the light green (silvery-gray)
foliage decorates lush canyons and valleys. The light-colored foliage
is easy to spot from the numerous vistas on these lovely islands.
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/plmar99.htm
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