Occurrence (Special Areas) :
Van Chetana Kendra, Basan, Indroda Park
About Abrus precatorius Plant :
Habit : A perennial climber.
Branches : More or less hairy or glabrous.
Leaves : Abruptly pinnate, light green in colour, 5-10 cm long; leaflets 10-20 pairs, glabrous above, more or less hairy beneath, ligulate, oblong.
Inflorescence : Flowers crowded in many-flowered racemes.
Flowers :
Calyx long, glabrous or slightly silky.
Corolla long, pink or rosy or sometimes white.
Stamens 9, monadelphous.
Ovary stalked, Style incurved, Stigma capitate.
Fruits : Pods flat, beaked, stout, turgid, 2.5-3 cm long about 1cm broad.
Seeds : 3-5 in number, 5-6 mm long, polished, subglobose, bright red with a black spot at one end.
Flowering and Fruiting time : Towards the end of the monsoon and later, September - December.
Significance :
The fresh leaves are cooked and eaten as vegetable.
The roots are employed as a substitute for liquorice.
The seeds are variously administered internally in nervous disorders, but much caution is needed in the use of the seeds as they possess a strong blood-coagulant, which may cause death.
The seeds have been used as fine weights by jewelers and goldsmiths (6 seeds = 1 anna in weight).
