Javascript must be enabled to use Listia. Please follow these instructions to enable javascript on your browser.

FREE: OVER 25 ROSARY PEA SEEDS: BEAUTIFUL FOR JEWELERY MAKING, THOUGH TOXIC!

A member of Listia gave this away for free!

Do you want FREE stuff like this?

Listia is 100% Free to use

Over 100,000 items are FREE on Listia

Declutter your home & save money

"Listia is like EBay, except everything is free" - Los Angeles Times

"An Awesome Way To Give And Get Free Stuff" - Michael Arrington, TechCrunch

This Stuff is Free Too:

FREE

Description

The listing, OVER 25 ROSARY PEA SEEDS: BEAUTIFUL FOR JEWELERY MAKING, THOUGH TOXIC! has ended.

This is an auction for over 25 Rosary Pea seeds. The last few photos are just examples of what some people have done with the seeds in jewelery making.
Latin name: Abrus precatorius
Common names: Rosary pea, Crab's eye, Precatory pea or bean, John Crow Bead, or Indian licorice.
The plant is best known for its seeds, which are used as beads and in percussion instruments, and which are TOXIC due to the presence of Abrin. The plant is native to India and grows in tropical and subtropical areas of the world where it has been introduced.
In Trinidad in the West Indies the brightly coloured seeds are strung into bracelets and worn around the wrist or ankle to ward off “jumbies” (evil spirits) and the evil eye. The seeds of the “rosary pea” are much valued in native jewelry for their bright coloration. Most beans are black and red.
Jewelry-making with these seed can be dangerous. THE SEEDS ARE ONLY POISONOUS TO HANDLE WHEN IT IS CRACKED (I know this from personal experience, as a small child I put some rosary peas in my mouth, but got caught by mom and spit out before chewing) BE VERY CAREFUL with seeds. ONLY THE CRACKED SEED IS TOXIC, NOT THE ENTIRE PLANT.
Plant type: Vine with attractive clusters of pink, purple or white flowers.
Habit: Perennial, twining stems
Height: Stems over 10'
Leaf: Feathery
Flower: Small, pale purple, pale pink, white
Seed: 1/4 in” diameter, shiny red with black "eye".
Interesting fact: The seeds are so uniform, they were once used to balance weights for ancient scales.
Flowering period: May to September.
Hardiness: Protect from frost. Good in pots.

**ALL LISTIA RULES APPLY**
**SEEDS ARE HIGHLY TOXIC, I HAVE MENTIONED THIS SEVERAL TIMES IN THIS AUCTION**
**I WILL ONLY SHIP TO VERIFIED LISTIA ADDRESSES: PLEASE, SEND ME YOU SHIPPING INFO ASAP, AS I PREFER TO SHIP NEXT DAY!**
Good luck & Happy Bidding!! Any questions, feel free to comment or message me!
3 DAY AUCTION

Questions & Comments

I grew these and collected seeds when I lived in S. Florida, a long time ago. They make very pretty displays in clear glass containers . They also last forever !

Mar 21st, 2015 at 10:36:54 AM PDT by

I'm sure they would make very beautiful seeds as displays!

Mar 22nd, 2015 at 2:57:44 AM PDT by

I know! The seeds are so beautiful! They look like perfect shiny red beads, just gotta remember not to eat them - haha. :)

Mar 21st, 2015 at 4:43:32 PM PDT by

Dear Casey, have you ever heard of or seen, a Florida ground oak bush ? It-the seed looks and taste like a pastashiao nut. Sorry about the spelling ha ha !

Mar 21st, 2015 at 6:01:27 PM PDT by

A Florida ground Oak bush? Is that the only common name for it? W'eve got tons of live oaks, water oaks, silver oaks, etc..that all produce acorns, the native americans used to boil the acorns and eat them. But I doubt that what's your referring to. I honestly don't know, the seeds looks like acorns, not like cashews...where in Florida did you see this plant or hear about it? I'm interested. It might not be a native FL plant, or it may just grow in Northern FL - lots of stuff grows in Northern FL that won't grow here, and there's a few things that will grow further south that don't surivive here and I'm in a coastal area...so..I don't know if that helped? If you have more info I can do some research :) Interesting....

Mar 22nd, 2015 at 2:33:41 AM PDT by

Dear Casey, also if you take Hwy 29 north-bound , out of LaBelle until it dead ends, the fence line on the other side of the hwy might still have the strangest star shaped flower, that looks like a bloated star. about 1 1/2 inches across. With blue pettals and a red center. I have no idea what it called !

Mar 21st, 2015 at 6:11:38 PM PDT by

Are you sure it's the flower and not the seed? I've got an auction up for Turk's Turban, that has a fruit that looks like a bloated red star with a blue center. FL is weird, as I say again, even though LaBelle is only a few hours south east of Bradenton, where I am at, completely different plants grow, since I'm in a coastal region and LaBelle is a South-Central region. If it's on the edge of a highway it's probably a native wildflower, which there are TONS of & hard to identify because most people just consider them weeds. There are so many pretty little plants around that people don't notice. Also, there's a chance it could be a tropical invasive, but I have no idea. Take a picture of it? If you can, I'll give you my email address and see if we can find out what it is! :)

Mar 22nd, 2015 at 2:40:29 AM PDT by

Dear Casey, I would love to visit Florida again. Right now, I live in South-Central Ky. I lived in South Florida from 1979 till about 8 years ago. I collected a lot of strange plants( weeds ? ) Those Oak bushes are native to south Florida. The seeds are wonder to eat, I am resurching them for you, I will let you know., also you might travel to the suger-cain area in S. Florida and pick up cain pieces along the road, ones that haven't been run over, and put them up for auction. A lot of people would be interested i'am sure ~I had green and red suger-cain, the worlds sweetest.I would love to come back to Florida some day and grow all the things I use to grow. Well for now, good-by. Robert Calfee !

Mar 22nd, 2015 at 7:58:49 AM PDT by

Sugar cane can grow here, but haven't seen any in this area. Something to think about, we just got a nectarine designed for FL, several banana plants, & a beige datura. Like I said, I closer to the coast, so it's more tropical than central, zone 9b/10a

Mar 22nd, 2015 at 12:30:49 PM PDT by

Dear Casey, if, sometime you can drive towards Clewiston area, and drive around to the Everglades sugar-cain fields, you will find all the sugar-cain you can carry from the roads. It is spilled off the trucks on the way to the sugar mill! I had over 23 different types of banana trees,cashews and chocalot from Jamaca and scores of different tropical plants and fruits . I miss growing all them things.

Mar 22nd, 2015 at 2:49:06 PM PDT by

Yes, tropicals are wonderful! We had a sugar-apple tree, had a cold snap in the beginning of feb, it didn't make it :( AND I SOLD THE SEEDS RIGHT BEFORE IT PASSED AWAY! Oh, the irony! No one could've predicted that, though.

Mar 22nd, 2015 at 3:10:09 PM PDT by

Dear Casey, I just thought of something. You are not to far from Ft. Meyers area, It is a goldmine of rare and different kinds of Palms and other plants you could auction off seeds and cuttings. Tropical plants make great patio plants in colder areas. You just bring them inside for the winter like I do!

Mar 22nd, 2015 at 10:53:03 PM PDT by

I know! I have tons of seeds I have collected, just haven't had the time to list between work hours! :)

Mar 23rd, 2015 at 4:38:03 AM PDT by

OVER 25 ROSARY PEA SEEDS: BEAUTIFUL FOR JEWELERY MAKING, THOUGH TOXIC! is in the Home & Garden | Gardening | Gardening Seeds & Bulbs category