Alligatorweed vs Castor

Alternanthera philoxeroides compared with Ricinus communis

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Alligatorweed	Castor
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)	Malpighiales (Malpighiales)
Family	Amaranthaceae	Euphorbiaceae
Genus	Alternanthera	Ricinus
Species	Alternanthera philoxeroides	Ricinus communis

Evolutionary Relationship

Alligatorweed and Castor share a common ancestor at the Class level: Magnoliopsida. (Dicots)

Conservation Status

Alligatorweed

NE — Not Evaluated

Castor

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Alligatorweed	Castor
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Alligatorweed

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and mangrove forests and coastal wetlands within the Indomalayan biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Comoros, Madagascar), Asia (14 countries), Europe (9 countries), North America (Honduras, Mexico, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand), and South America (4 countries).

Castor

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 7 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (33 countries), Asia (26 countries), Europe (23 countries), North America (15 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (14 countries), and South America (12 countries).

Alligatorweed

The Alligatorweed (Alternanthera philoxeroides) is a species in the genus Alternanthera. Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and mangrove forests and coastal wetlands within the Indomalayan biogeographic realm.

Castor

The Castor (Ricinus communis) is a species in the genus Ricinus. Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 7 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and hi

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 30 countries:

🇦🇺 Australia 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇨🇱 Chile 🇨🇳 China 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇰🇲 Comoros 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇷 France 🇬🇾 Guyana 🇭🇳 Honduras 🇮🇳 India 🇮🇹 Italy 🇯🇵 Japan 🇲🇬 Madagascar 🇲🇾 Malaysia 🇲🇻 Maldives 🇲🇽 Mexico 🇳🇵 Nepal 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇿 New Zealand 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇬 Singapore 🇪🇸 Spain 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇹🇼 Taiwan 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 🇺🇸 United States 🇻🇳 Vietnam