Crab's Eyes Abrus precatorius
Other Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- AH-broos prek-ah-TOR-ee-us
- This plant has high severity poison characteristics.
- See below
- Description
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The rosary pea is an evergreen vine in the bean family (Fabaceae) that is native to India and parts of tropical Asia. It was imported to Florida and is now listed as a noxious weed and is on the Federal Noxious Weed List. It is illegal to grow this poisonous plant.
This plant grows as a twining vine and can climb over trees and shrubs, invading both undisturbed and disturbed areas. The deep taproot makes it difficult to eradicate.
The shiny red and black seeds are very uniform in shape and have been used as a measure of weight and for jewelry. Birds will eat the fruits, spreading the seeds, and are unaffected by the poison. The pea-shaped flowers grow in clusters in the axils of the compound leaves.
Control of the plant is by hand pulling, aggressive tilling and chemical applications.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Abrus
- Species:
- precatorius
- Family:
- Fabaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Parts of the plant have been used in herbal medicine. The roots were used to induce abortions.
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- India and parts of tropical Asia
- Climbing Method:
- Twining
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Herbaceous Perennial
- Poisonous
- Vine
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Broadleaf Evergreen
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Spreading
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- High
- Texture:
- Fine
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Available Space To Plant:
- 12-24 feet
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Black
- Red/Burgundy
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Fruit Type:
- Legume
- Fruit Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Fruit Description:
- The seeds, from a pea-shaped oblong flat truncate pod, 1 1/2"-2" long curls back when opening to reveal 3 to 8 hard-coated, glossy, two-toned: brilliant scarlet-red over 2/3 of the length and black over the narrow 1/3. The seeds give its common name of crab's eyes.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Pink
- Purple/Lavender
- White
- Flower Shape:
- Lipped
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- Small, white to violet-pink, clustered in the axils of leaves.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Broadleaf Evergreen
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Opposite
- Leaf Shape:
- Oblong
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Width:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Description:
- Pinnately compound leaves alternate, petioled, and 2-5 inches long, with 5 to 15 pairs of oval to oblong leaflets less than 1″ long
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
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Landscape:
- Problems:
- Poisonous to Humans
- Problem for Cats
- Problem for Dogs
- Problem for Horses
- Weedy
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Poisonous to Humans:
- Poison Severity:
- High
- Poison Symptoms:
- All parts are posoinous but its the seeds that are most often ingested. Once eaten there can be a delay of hours or days: nausea, vomiting, severe abdominal pain and diarrhea, tremors, high heart rate, fever, shock, burning in throat; later ulcerative lesions of mouth and esophagus; can be fatal.
- Poison Toxic Principle:
- Abrin, a protein
- Causes Contact Dermatitis:
- No
- Poison Part:
- Flowers
- Leaves
- Roots
- Seeds
