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Common name

English: Abrus seed

German: Paternostererbse

Mandarin: 相思子 (xiang si zi)

Portuguese: Jiquiriti

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae (2659)

  Phylum: Tracheophyta (2572)

    Class: Magnoliopsida (2167)

      Order: Fabales (241)

        Family: Fabaceae (241)(family description)

          Genus: Abrus (1)

            Epithet: precatorius L. (1)

Synonyms: Abrus abrus (L.)Wright, Abrus maculatus Noronha, Abrus minor Desv., Abrus pauciflorus Desv., Abrus squamulosus E.Meyer, Abrus tunguensis Lima, Glycine abrus L.

abrus => soft or delicate

maculatus => spotted

minor => smaller, lesser

pauciflorus => few-flowered

precatorius => latin for "one who prays" and alludes to the use of the seeds for rosaries

squamulosus => covered with small scales

Characteristics

Climate: tropical

Habitat: mesophytic

Habit: herb

Flower colour: blue, purple, violet

External links

Check for Abrus precatorius at

World Flora Online, GBIF or IPNI

Literature

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