Cape cheesewood vs Castor

Pittosporum viridiflorum compared with Ricinus communis

Key Differences

• Cape cheesewood is Least Concern while Castor is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cape cheesewood	Castor
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Apiales (Apiales)	Malpighiales (Malpighiales)
Family	Pittosporaceae	Euphorbiaceae
Genus	Pittosporum	Ricinus
Species	Pittosporum viridiflorum	Ricinus communis

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Cape cheesewood

LC — Least Concern

Castor

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cape cheesewood	Castor
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cape cheesewood

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests within the Neotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Distributed across Guinea, India, Jamaica, and United States.

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).

Cape cheesewood

The Cape cheesewood (Pittosporum viridiflorum) is a species in the genus Pittosporum. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests within the Neotropic 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 4 countries:

🇬🇳 Guinea 🇮🇳 India 🇯🇲 Jamaica 🇺🇸 United States