Job's tears

Job's-tears, tall tropical plant of the family Gramineae (grass family), Coix lacrymajobi, native to E Asia and Malaya but elsewhere cultivated in gardens as an annual and naturalized in the S United States and New World tropics. The annual grass produces a fruit shaped like a tear drop. The mature grains are enveloped by very hard, pearly white, oval structures that look like a tear drop.   They are named after the Biblical Job and used as beads for making rosaries, necklaces, and other objects. Some varieties are harvested for cereal food and are used medicinally in parts of Asia. Job's-tears are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Liliopsida, order Cyperales, family Gramineae. Job's tears were domesticated very early for food. Maybe even before rice. In the wild, the fruit has a hard, shiny coat. After domestication, this coat becomes less hard and easier to cook into a porridge. It ranks --- along with wheat and barley in the Near East; beans, corn, squash and pepper in the Americans; and rice in Asia -- as one of the earliest domesticated plants.

What makes this plant so important to the bead world is that the fruit is perfect for stringing. It is one of the rare natural beads in either the plant or animal kingdoms. At its tip is a hole that allows the flower to emerge. When picked off the stem, the rounded end breaks off, leaving a hole. The inside is so soft that it is easily pierced, creating an instant bead.