AusBonsai

Saw this planted by the side of the road lately, and I've never seen anything quite like it. If anybody can help me ID it, it would be much appreciated.
You can kind of see my finger in the one picture for scale. The bright red fuzz balls are the seed pods. When dried they are brown and very spiky. Can't say much about the growth habit, because it's just a seedling right now. Thanks!

I am a little surprised by the bright pink seed pod but they do vary a lot. I am confident this is a liquidambar

It's not a Liquid Amber.
It is a castor oil plant (Ricinus communis).
Cheers

An image for reference.

Definitely Ricinus communis - castor oil/castor bean plant.

Can be invasive in Aus! But grows best in tropical areas.


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I am really surprised to see these being deliberately planted anywhere. Not only are they considered a noxious weed in many places, they are toxic to both humans & animals, containing the poison ricin. I certainly wouldn't want one around, no matter how nice they look.

Cheers

Castor bean it is. And very strange to find it planted intentionally. I shall most definitely not do likewise.

I did find some very nice looking red liquidambar varieties while looking though. Maybe I'll give one of those a go. Thanks for the replies!

lackhand wrote:Castor bean it is. And very strange to find it planted intentionally. I shall most definitely not do likewise.

I did find some very nice looking red liquidambar varieties while looking though. Maybe I'll give one of those a go. Thanks for the replies!

Good to hear you've found an alternative.
I wonder if whoever is responsible for planting them even realise what they are or if they just consider them a 'pretty plant'. Maybe they should be informed.

Cheers