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Rosary Pea

Abrus precatorius L.

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15.6006, 120.905

Field Notes

Description:

A. precatorius, a high-climbing, twining or trailing woody vine, is listed as an ‘agricultural weed’, ‘environmental weed’, ‘weed’ and ‘naturalised’ in the Global Compendium of Weeds and has been declared a Category I noxious weed in the US state of Florida (Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2011; USDA-ARS, 2014). The species is considered native to the Old World tropics and introduced to the Neotropics, and has been valued in various cultures, especially its seeds and roots, for a wide range of uses including medicine, food, beverage sweetener, liquorice substitute, ornamental plant, jewelry and beads, weighing unit, and for traditional cultural and spiritual purposes. However, the species is also well known for the high toxicity of its seeds, as a single seed is potent enough to kill a human. A. precatorius reproduces by these bright red seeds, which are spread by both biotic and abiotic factors.

Source: https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/1965#tosummaryOfInvasiveness

Notes:

As a child I used to played those seeds. Thankfully Im alive and never experience any harm playing it.

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Photographed
PublishedApril 13, 2020

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