Castor Oil is derived from the seeds of this plant. Castrol motor oil was founded on lubricants containing Castor Oil--hence the name. In a season's time, this tropical eye-catching plant can grow to an impressive size. The Dr. Seuss-like flowers and huge leaves look very alien. Traditionally they were sometimes called "Tick-beans" owing to how much they resemble a certain engorged blood-sucking parasite. I planted them in by garden and was not troubled by moles--however I don't know if that was due to a very effective community barn cat (or three) or the castor beans. I'd recommend planting them with caution, because they can become quite large, and can self seed (the seeds are QUITE poisonous if chewed up and swallowed). I removed seed stalks in order to limit the amount of seed the plant dispersed. Frankly, it's amazing how large they can get in a year.