? Jequirity
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fabales Family: Fabaceae Subfamily: Faboideae Tribe: Abreae Genus: Abrus Species: A. precatorius
Binomial name
Abrus precatorius L.

The Jequirity, also called Black-eyed Susan, Rosary Pea or Indian Licorice (Abrus precatorius), is a legume with long, pinnate-leafleted leaves. Their seeds are often used as beads and in percussion instruments. The seed is highly poisonous but is unlikely to harm if swallowed raw and unbroken, as they have a hard seed coat. Abrus precatorius1. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants Adiantum pedatum (a... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms) are a major group of land plants. ... Orders see text Dicotyledons or dicots are flowering plants whose seed typically contains two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. ... Families Fabaceae (legumes) Quillajaceae Polygalaceae (milkwort family) Surianaceae The Fabales are an order of flowering plants, included in the rosid group of dicotyledons. ... Subfamilies Faboideae Caesalpinioideae Mimosoideae References GRIN-CA 2002-09-01 The name Fabaceae belongs to either of two families, depending on viewpoint. ... Genera See text The Subfamily Faboideae is in the flowering plant family, Fabaceae. ... Binomial name Abrus precatorius The Jequirity, also called Black-eyed Susan, Rosary Pea or Indian Licorice (Abrus precatorius), is a legume with long, pinnate-leafleted leaves. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature refers to the formal method of naming species. ... Carolus Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as Carl von Linné ▶(?), and in English usually under the Latinized name Carolus Linnaeus (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of taxonomy. ... Varieties of soybean seeds, a popular legume A flowering legume (Lupin) The term legume has two closely related meanings in botany, a situation encountered with many botanical common names of useful plants whereby an applied name can refer to either the plant itself, or to the edible fruit (or useful... In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. ... A seed is the ripened ovule of gymnosperm or angiosperm plants. ... The skull and crossbones symbol traditionally used to label a poisonous substance. ...

Abrus precatorius from Koehler's Medicinal-Plants

The toxin present in Abrus precatorius is a toxalbumin called abrin (closely related to ricin produced by castor beans). It consists of two protein chains: A and B. The B chain is abrin's "ticket" into the cell — it bonds to certain transport proteins on cell walls, which then transport the abrin into the cell. Once inside the cell, the A chain goes to work. It is an enzyme which denatures rRNA by removing a specific amino acid from its place (the 26S position on the rRNA chain), making protein synthesis impossible. One molecule of abrin will inactivate up to 1,500 ribosomes per second. Symptoms are identical to those of ricin, except that the fatal dose of ricin is approximately 75 times greater than the fatal dose of abrin. Abrin can kill with a circulating amount of less than 3 mcg (micrograms). A toxin, in a scientific context, is a biologically produced substance that causes injury to the health of a living thing on contact or absorption, typically by interacting with biological macromolecules such as enzymes and receptors. ... Castor beans The protein ricin (pronounced rye-sin) is a poison manufactured from the castor bean (Ricinus communis). ... Binomial name Ricinus communis The castor bean (Ricinus communis) is not a true bean, but a member of the Euphorbiaceae or spurge family. ... A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin, showing coloured alpha helices. ... Ribbon diagram of the catalytically perfect enzyme TIM. Factor D enzyme crystal prevents the immune system from inappropriately running out of control. ... In chemistry, an amino acid is any molecule that contains both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. ... Figure 1: Ribosome structure indicating small subunit (A) and large subunit (B). ...

The seeds of Abrus precatorius are much valued in native jewelry for their bright coloration. The third of the bean with the hilum (attachment scar) is black, while the rest is bright red, suggesting a ladybug. Jewelry-making with jequirity seeds is dangerous, and there have been cases of death by a finger-prick while boring the seeds for beadwork. Jewelry (the American spelling; spelled jewellery in Commonwealth English) consists of ornamental devices worn by persons, typically made with gems and precious metals. ...

External links

• Abrus precatorius (Wild Liquorice) King's American Dispensatory @ Henriette's Herbal
• Liquorice, Indian Mrs. Grieve's "A Modern Herbal" @ Botanical.com