Abrus precatorius L.

English: Abrus seed

German: Paternostererbse

Mandarin: 相思子 (xiang si zi)

Portuguese: Jiquiriti

Kingdom: Plantae (2715)

  Phylum: Tracheophyta (2630)

    Class: Magnoliopsida (2217)

      Order: Fabales (244)

        Family: Fabaceae (244)(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

Climate: tropical

Habitat: mesophytic

Habit: herb

Flower colour: blue, purple, violet

Check for Abrus precatorius at

World Flora Online, GBIF or IPNI

• [54] Rosary Pea - University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
• [180] Abrus precatorius - Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER)
• [413] International Legume Database & Information Service
• [414] Abrus precatorius L. - INCHEM
• [1383] Abrus precatorius - Flora of China @ efloras.org

• [40] Nelson,L.S., Shih,R., Balick,M. (2007): Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious Plants. 2nd edition, 0(0):Springer-Verlag GmbH.