Based on the seed pods in the background, I'd say castor bean, Ricinus communis. It does attract a few insects but its extreme toxicity limits its attraction to other wildlife. And humans :-)

Typically grown for the large dramatic leaves, but not something you want around if you have kids or critters that chew on plants since it is quite toxic.

Looks like Castor Bean plant, very poisonous and can be an invasive pest. Yank it out.

Castor Bean is Ricinus communis.

I'll pull them out. Is it safe to add to compost or would it make the compost toxic?

" would it make the compost toxic "

Only if you eat it :-)

They are a rather popular ornamental grown as an annual in colder zones.

I have some growing here. Even the chickens aren't dumb enough to eat the seeds. I would watch small children or other impaired people who might eat them. Idk if dogs eat them, ours never did but puppies will chew anything. Goats might..not sure if its toxic to goats?

The toxicity danger may be overblown, but it's invasive nature is not. In California and Florida this plant is listed as an invasive pest.

Hardly overblown....Ricinus is routinely rated as among the top 10 toxic plants ever!! And like many plants that are invasive, its invasive nature is restricted to certain locations, primarily the warmer zones where this plant is an evergreen shrub and not a die-to-the ground annual.

We planted castor beans and played with datura when we were kids too.

we played with datura flowers.

8-10 of us kids none os died or got sick.

we knew they were poisonous.

overrated.

It used to be listed in seed catalogs as a repellent to gophers. Years ago before the whole ricin mail scandals. My grandma wanted me to send her some seeds due to all the gophers in her yard.. Even though I sent them in a bubble envelope, they somehow got crushed and the evelope torn open at the P.O. she ended up with just remnants of seeds lol. I don't know if they are still sent through the mail now days..

"Overrated" compared to what?? Of course it requires ingestion......most toxic plants do. And there are very few cases of folks - other than children - that intentionally eat most poisonous plants. That does not negate the fact that even a very tiny amount of ricin is fatal and it is also highly toxic if ricin powder is inhaled or injected. I can't think of any other plant that has been weaponized for chemical and biological warfare.

Overall, it is not a desirable plant.

I don't think they're very attractive, and they do behave like weeds.

I went out this morning to pull out my two Castor Bean plants. I found 6 of them! Thank you all for warning me of their toxicity. These will not be poisoning any beings in my neighborhood.

So true gardengal! My old neighbors when I loved in the (sort of) northwest used to grow them every summer. I HAD to find out what it was. It looks really lush compared to what else was growing in the area and it reminded me of home.

The red-foliaged selection makes a pretty annual in areas where winter cold kills it, and where the growing season is sufficiently short that the plant does not have time to set seed.

Here it is a big, ugly, invasive perennial, though locally our years-long drought has killed off a lot of it.

I think the dark red leaved ones are attractive. From what I understand, all parts of it are so unpalatable, no animal or person would eat it voluntarily. My grandmother had a lot of them. She said it kept the moles out. I never saw a mole hill in her yard that I can remember.