View source for Abrus precatorius

{{SPlantbox
|genus=Abrus
|species=precatorius
|common_name=Coral pea, Crab's eyes, Paternoster beans
|name_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|habit=vine-climber
|habit_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|Max ht box=35
|Max ht metric=ft
|height_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|Max wd box=3
|Max wd metric=ft
|width_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|poisonous=seeds toxic
|lifespan=perennial
|exposure=sun, part-sun
|sun_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|features=flowers, naturalizes, invasive
|flower_season=early fall, mid fall, late fall
|flower_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|flowers=white
|Temp Metric=°F
|min_zone=10
|usda_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|max_zone=12
|image=Abrus precatorius pods.jpg
|image_width=240
|image_caption=Jequirity
}}
'''''Abrus precatorius''''', known commonly as '''Jequirity''', '''Crab's Eye''', '''Rosary Pea''', ''''''John Crow'''''' Bead, '''Precatory bean''', '''Indian Licorice''', '''Akar Saga''', '''Giddee Giddee''' or '''[[Jumbie]] Bead''' in [[Trinidad & Tobago]],<ref>Mendes (1986), p. 79.</ref> is a slender, perennial climber that twines around  trees, shrubs, and hedges.  It is a [[legume]] with long, pinnate-leafleted [[Leaf|leaves]]. The seed contains the toxic [[poison]] [[abrin]].  The plant is native to [[Indonesia]] and grows in tropical and subtropical areas of the world where it has been introduced.  It has a tendency to become [[weed]]y and invasive where it has been introduced.

{{Inc|
Abrus precatorius. Crab's-eye Vine. Weather-Plant. Height 10-12 ft.; frequently trailing over the ground S.: lfts. oblong, in numerous pairs: fls. varying from rose to white: seeds bright scarlet, with a black spot, used by Buddhists for rosaries, in India as standards of weight, and in the W. Indies in bead work. Seeds irritant; also used as an abortive in U. S. A variety with a cream-colored bean is offered by Reasoner Bros.: Tropics generally.—The claims made for its weather-foretelling properties are exposed by Oliver in Kew Bull. Jan., 1890. It does, however, "go to sleep" during storms, but this is a feature of other legumes. Sometimes confused with [[Rhynchosia phaseoloides]] (syn. R. precatoria), which has similar seeds, but is a very different plant with large, 3-foliolate, bean-like lvs.{{SCH}}
}}