2769: Castor Jul 20, 2024

Many children of recent history may have shuddered at the thought of castor oil, which comes from castor beans, but if they knew where castor, per se, came from, they might not mind the beans (or really, seed) oil. 

Castoreum is a secretion of beavers in multiple glands around their rear ends. It’s potent smell is used in perfumes and historically foods, but on paper has nothing to do with the beans for which it gave its name. Indeed, ‘castor’ just means ‘beaver’ in Greek and this root was then applied to one of their notable features. It seems that there was a misappropriation of the Latin name of another plant, castus, onto the ricin plant that produces the castor beans, but it may be that castor-oil can be used as a cheaper substitute for castoreum in certain contexts, namely for perfumes.