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Rosary pea
Douglas Goldman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via iNaturalist

Legumes: pea and bean family

Rosary pea

Abrus precatorius L.

Introduced by people

Names

EnglishRosary pea
DutchPaternosterboontje
SpanishCoralillo asiático
Chinese相思子
Scientific nameAbrus precatorius L.

About this species

Abrus precatorius, commonly known as jequirity bean or rosary pea, is a herbaceous flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae. It is a slender, perennial climber with long, pinnate-leafleted leaves that twines around trees, shrubs, and hedges.

The plant is best known for its seeds, which are used as beads and in percussion instruments, and which are toxic because of the presence of abrin. Ingestion of a single seed, well chewed, can be fatal to both adults and children. The plant is native to Asia and Australia. It has a tendency to become weedy and invasive where it has been introduced.

Read more on Wikipedia · Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Classification

KingdomPlantae
PhylumTracheophyta
ClassMagnoliopsida
OrderFabales
FamilyFabaceae
GenusAbrus

Related species in Suriname