Known for its quick growth, this plant provides shade and produces seeds used to make castor oil.
About Castor Oil
A large plant native to tropical Africa and Asia. The castor oil plant (Ricinus communis) is grown both for its appearance and for the oil that comes from its seeds. The gourd mentioned in Jonah 4:6–7 was probably this plant.
The castor bean is a soft-stemmed shrub that grows 0.9 to 3.7 meters (3 to 12 feet tall). It has very large leaves that look like an open human hand. The plant can be found growing in waste places, especially near water. People grow the castor oil plant in both Lebanon and Israel and the surrounding areas. In hot climates, it can grow as tall as a tree and provides good shade because of its many large, umbrella-like leaves. In the countries of Asia, it is known for how quickly it grows.
Key References
All Scripture References (4)
Jonah (4)
So the LORD God appointed a vine, and it grew up to provide shade over Jonah’s head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was greatly pleased with the plant.
When dawn came the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant so that it withered.
Then God asked Jonah, “Have you any right to be angry about the plant?” “I do,” he replied. “I am angry enough to die!”
But the LORD said, “You cared about the plant, which you neither tended nor made grow. It sprang up in a night and perished in a night.