Job's Tear Plants
These amazing beads are like nothing you have ever seen, unless you have, of course, seen these amazing beads. They have been around since antiquity! I wish that I could remember when I first started growing these or why I ordered the seed, but I can’t. I know it’s been years and they do a pretty good job of self-seeding, which is why I have plants for you. The only other person I met growing these was a monk from the Northshore named Brother Austin. They make rosaries over there and people have been doing this for centuries. The actual seed has a perfect hole and the “bead” changes colors its colors of grey from light to dark and some with a bluish tint, some white. Really a stunning plant for any jeweler or creator to have.
You can do your own research about the rich history of this plant, believed to be the world’s first grain, a plant that spans time and culture. See below for an abbreviated description lifted from the Wikipedia that I have taken the liberty of removing all those annoying hyperlink footnotes.
Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi), also known as adlay or adlay millet, is a tall grain-bearing perennial tropical plant of the family Poaceae (grass family). It is native to Southeast Asia and was introduced to Northern China and India in remote antiquity. It has also been naturalized in the southern United States and the New World tropics. In its native environment, it is grown at higher elevation areas where rice and corn do not grow well. Job's tears are also commonly sold as Chinese pearl barley, though true barley belongs to a completely different genus.
There are two main varieties of the species, one wild and one cultivated. The wild variety, Coix lacryma-jobi var. lacryma-jobi, has hard-shelled pseudocarps—very hard, pearly white, oval structures used as beads for making prayer beads or rosaries, necklaces, and other objects. The cultivated variety Coix lacryma-jobi var. ma-yuen is harvested as a cereal crop, has a soft shell, and is used medicinally in parts of Asia.
Nomenclature Job's tears may also be referred to under different spellings (Job's-tears, Jobs-tears). The crop is also known by other common names in English, such as adlay or adlay millet. Other common names in English include coix seed, gromwell grass, and tear grass.
The seeds are known in Chinese as yìyǐ rén (薏苡仁), where rén means "kernel", and also described in Latin as semen coicis or semen coicis lachryma-jobi in pharmacopoeic literature.
Taxonomy The species, native to Southeast Asia, was named by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 with the epithet as a Latin translation of the metaphorical tear of Job. As of February 2015, four varieties are accepted by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families:
Coix lacryma-jobi var. lacryma-jobi: Widely distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent to peninsular Malaysia and Taiwan; naturalized elsewhere. The involucres are ovoid, bony, and glossy. It has hard shells and is used as beads in crafts.
Coix lacryma-jobi var. ma-yuen (Rom.Caill.) Stapf: South China to peninsular Malaysia and the Philippines. The varietal name is eponymous after General Ma Yuen or Ma Yuan who, according to legend, learned of the plant's use when he was posted in Cochin China (or Tonkin, in what is now Vietnam), and brought the seeds back to China to be cultivated. The involucres are elliptical, striate, and soft.
Coix lacryma-jobi var. puellarum (Balansa) A.Camus: Assam to Yunnan (China) and Indochina. It is the smallest among the Indian species, with only 4mm in diameter of the seeds. It is used for ornament as well.
Coix lacryma-jobi var. stenocarpa Oliv.: Eastern Himalayas to Indochina. Job's tears—along with Coix in—was formerly placed in the Maydeae, now known to be polyphyletic. It has cylindrical, longer than broad involucres. It is widely used as beads for ornaments.
Morphology Job's tear is a monoecious grass that is broad-leaved, loose-growing, branched, and robust. It can reach a height between 1.20 m to 1.80 m. Like all members of the genus, their inflorescences develop from a leaf sheath at the end of the stem and consist partly of hard, globular or oval, hollow, bead-like structures. Job's tear seeds differ in color, with the more soft-shelled seeds being light brown and the hard-shelled forms having a dark red pericarp.
The hardened "shells" covering the seeds are technically the fruit-case or involucre (hardened bract), with the bract also referred to as "capsule-spathe" or "sheathing bract" by some past botanical works. These shells cover the bases of the flowers (inflorescences) which are male and female racemes/panicles; the male racemes project upright and consist of overlapping scale-like spikelets, with yellow stamens that pop out in-between, and there are one or two yarn-like female racemes drooping from the base.
Proteins Job's tears, as with Coix in general, produce their own variety of α-zein prolamins. These prolamins have undergone unusually rapid evolutionary divergence from closely related grasses, by way of copy-number changes.
History Job's tears are native to Southeast Asian countries, namely India, Myanmar, China, and Malaysia. Residue on pottery from a Neolithic (late Yangshao Culture) site in north-central China shows that Job's tears, together with non-native barley and other plants, were used to brew beer as early as ca. 3000 BC.
Job's tears were already introduced to Japan (and probably cultivated alongside rice) in the Early Jōmon Period, corroborated by finds in Western Japan (Chūgoku region), e.g., from studies of phytoliths in the Asanebana Shell Midden (ca. 4000 BC) in Okayama Prefecture. And further east in Japan, the plant has been found at the Toro site, Shizuoka Prefecture dating to the Yayoi Period.
Remains of Job's tears have been found in archaeological sites in northeastern India, dating to around 1000 BC. It was introduced to the subtropical area in India from the east Himalayan belt. A number of scholars support the view it has been in cultivation in India in the 2000–1000 BC period. The wild varieties have hard-coated seeds. Job's tear was one of the earliest domesticated crops. Domestication makes the seed coat become softer and easier to cook.
In China, the current cultivation of Job's tears mainly occurs in Fujian, Jiangsu, Hebei, and Liaoning provinces. The cultivation of Job's tears spreads out to temperate areas in North and Northeast China. The shelled grains exported from China were erroneously declared through customs as "pearl barley," and "Chinese pearl barley" remains an alternate common name so that the grains are sold under such a label in Asian supermarkets, even though C. lacryma-jobi is not closely related to barley (Hordeum vulgare).
Uses Crafts The hard, white grains of Job's tears have historically been used as beads to make necklaces and other objects. The seeds are naturally bored with holes without the need to artificially puncture them. Strands of Job's tears are used as Buddhist prayer beads in parts of India, Myanmar, Laos, Taiwan, and Korea. They are also made into rosaries in countries such as the Philippines and Bolivia.
East Asia Japan In Japan, the grains growing wild are called juzudama (‘Buddhist rosary beads’), and children have made playthings out of them by stringing them into necklaces. However, juzu-dama was a corruption of zuzu-dama according to folklorist Kunio Yanagita. A type of Buddhist rosary called irataka no juzu, which were hand-made by the yamabushi ascetics practicing shugendō training, purportedly used a large-grain type known as oni-juzudama (‘oni(ogre) rosary beads’). Although this was published as a separate variety, C. lacryma jobi var. maxima Makino, it is now regarded as synonymous to C. lacryma jobi var. lacryma-jobi according to taxonomical databases (World Checklist of Selected Plant Families).
It was contended by Edo Period scholar Ono Ranzan that the soft-shelled edible type called shikoku-mugi was not introduced into Japan until the Kyōho era (1716–1736), as opposed to a hard-shelled edible type called chōsen-mugi (lit. ‘Korean wheat’) which needed to be beaten in order to crack and thresh them. This type has been published as a separate species, C. agrestis in the past, but this is now recognized also as a synonym of C. lacryma jobi var. lacryma-jobi. Thus Japanese consumption of the crop attested in pre-Kyōho literature presumably used this hard-shelled type in the recipe.
Yanagita contended that the use of the beads predated the introduction of Buddhism into Japan (552/538 CE). And the plant has not only been found at sites dating to approximately this period at the Kuroimine Site, but in Jomon period sites dating to several millennia BC.
Ocean Road Hypothesis Yanagita in his Ocean Road hypothesis argues that the pearly glistening seeds were regarded as simulating or substituting for cowrie shells, which were used as ornaments and currency throughout Southern China and Southeast Asia in antiquity, and he argued both items to be part of cultural transmission into Japan from these areas.
Later scholars have pursued the validity of the thesis. Yanagita had reproduced a distribution map of the usage of ornamental cowries throughout Asia (compiled by J. Wilfrid Jackson), and Japanese ethnologist Keiji Iwata alluded to a need for a distribution map of ornamental Job's tears, for making comparison therewith.
Mainland Southeast Asia Thailand and Myanmar The Akha people and the Karen people who live in the mountainous regions around the Thai-Myanmar border grow several varieties of the plant and use them extensively as ornaments.
Tibeto-Burman Ethnic Groups There are seven distinct varieties of Job's tears (collectively called "Phangn" or "Bhang") cultivated by Tibeto-Burman Ethnic groups in Manipur. Different varieties of these species are cultivated and used by the Anal, Aimol, Chiru, Chothe, Lamkang, Tarao, Purum, Kom, Hmar, and the Naga tribes, all of whom have a traditional practice of using the grains to make bread-like products as food.
Hills of Meghalaya, India The Khasi people, and the Garo people, who live in the hilly regions of Meghalaya, have cultivated Job's tears, locally known as "Krai," since ancient times. They make a rice-beer known as "Kiad-krai" out of this grain.
South Asia In the Malnad region of Karnataka, the Coix is grown on a small scale along with Areca palm. This grain is referred to as "Aane-akhshi" in Kannada.
China Job's tears are widely grown as a crop in parts of China, but not all Chinese provinces have been surveyed, hence it is listed as occurring wild in several regions. It is found in forests, open hillsides, and wasteland or cultivated as a crop. In Traditional Chinese medicine, Job's tears are known as a healthy food or medicine, useful for reducing heat and other effects. Chinese medicine practitioners regard it as useful for its diuretic effects, as well as to strengthen the spleen, nourish lungs, and alleviate arthritis. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the seeds are used to strengthen the spleen, to counteract damp heat, and to activate the function of the lungs. The roots and leaves are used to treat boils. The plant also shows antioxidant activity.
Other Uses Job's tears are also used as a diuretic in Ayurvedic medicine and other South Asian traditional medicines.
The grain is widely consumed throughout East Asia, especially in South Korea, China, Japan, and Thailand, and is becoming more popular in other parts of the world. The grain is sold in dried form and cooked like rice.
The grass seeds of the wild variety are very hard and can be strung as beads without cracking. They are used in the making of rosaries, necklaces, and other objects. The softer grains of the cultivated variety are ground into flour, brewed into beer, used as a coffee substitute, or cooked as porridge.
Korea In Korea, a thick drink called yulmu cha (율무차) is made from powdered Job's tears. The processed grain is also often used for various traditional teas and as a snack.
Taiwan Job's tears are a common ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine and desserts.
Thailand In Thailand, it is often consumed in a similar manner to barley and made into a tea or added to desserts.
Philippines In the Philippines, the grains are often threaded into necklaces, rosaries, and other ornaments.
India In the southern parts of India, the grain is used in some traditional dishes.
Medicinal Uses Anti-Cancer Properties Job's tears may have potential anti-cancer properties. Research has found that it may inhibit cancer cell growth and induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) in certain cancer cells.
Other Health Benefits Job's tears are considered to have various health benefits such as promoting digestion, providing anti-inflammatory effects, and acting as an antioxidant. They are also thought to support cardiovascular health, improve immune function, and help in weight management.
Culinary Uses The grain can be cooked and eaten like rice or used in soups and stews. It can also be ground into flour to make bread, cakes, or other baked goods. It is often used in traditional Asian desserts and drinks.
These amazing beads are like nothing you have ever seen, unless you have, of course, seen these amazing beads. They have been around since antiquity! I wish that I could remember when I first started growing these or why I ordered the seed, but I can’t. I know it’s been years and they do a pretty good job of self-seeding, which is why I have plants for you. The only other person I met growing these was a monk from the Northshore named Brother Austin. They make rosaries over there and people have been doing this for centuries. The actual seed has a perfect hole and the “bead” changes colors its colors of grey from light to dark and some with a bluish tint, some white. Really a stunning plant for any jeweler or creator to have.
You can do your own research about the rich history of this plant, believed to be the world’s first grain, a plant that spans time and culture. See below for an abbreviated description lifted from the Wikipedia that I have taken the liberty of removing all those annoying hyperlink footnotes.
Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi), also known as adlay or adlay millet, is a tall grain-bearing perennial tropical plant of the family Poaceae (grass family). It is native to Southeast Asia and was introduced to Northern China and India in remote antiquity. It has also been naturalized in the southern United States and the New World tropics. In its native environment, it is grown at higher elevation areas where rice and corn do not grow well. Job's tears are also commonly sold as Chinese pearl barley, though true barley belongs to a completely different genus.
There are two main varieties of the species, one wild and one cultivated. The wild variety, Coix lacryma-jobi var. lacryma-jobi, has hard-shelled pseudocarps—very hard, pearly white, oval structures used as beads for making prayer beads or rosaries, necklaces, and other objects. The cultivated variety Coix lacryma-jobi var. ma-yuen is harvested as a cereal crop, has a soft shell, and is used medicinally in parts of Asia.
Nomenclature Job's tears may also be referred to under different spellings (Job's-tears, Jobs-tears). The crop is also known by other common names in English, such as adlay or adlay millet. Other common names in English include coix seed, gromwell grass, and tear grass.
The seeds are known in Chinese as yìyǐ rén (薏苡仁), where rén means "kernel", and also described in Latin as semen coicis or semen coicis lachryma-jobi in pharmacopoeic literature.
Taxonomy The species, native to Southeast Asia, was named by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 with the epithet as a Latin translation of the metaphorical tear of Job. As of February 2015, four varieties are accepted by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families:
Coix lacryma-jobi var. lacryma-jobi: Widely distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent to peninsular Malaysia and Taiwan; naturalized elsewhere. The involucres are ovoid, bony, and glossy. It has hard shells and is used as beads in crafts.
Coix lacryma-jobi var. ma-yuen (Rom.Caill.) Stapf: South China to peninsular Malaysia and the Philippines. The varietal name is eponymous after General Ma Yuen or Ma Yuan who, according to legend, learned of the plant's use when he was posted in Cochin China (or Tonkin, in what is now Vietnam), and brought the seeds back to China to be cultivated. The involucres are elliptical, striate, and soft.
Coix lacryma-jobi var. puellarum (Balansa) A.Camus: Assam to Yunnan (China) and Indochina. It is the smallest among the Indian species, with only 4mm in diameter of the seeds. It is used for ornament as well.
Coix lacryma-jobi var. stenocarpa Oliv.: Eastern Himalayas to Indochina. Job's tears—along with Coix in—was formerly placed in the Maydeae, now known to be polyphyletic. It has cylindrical, longer than broad involucres. It is widely used as beads for ornaments.
Morphology Job's tear is a monoecious grass that is broad-leaved, loose-growing, branched, and robust. It can reach a height between 1.20 m to 1.80 m. Like all members of the genus, their inflorescences develop from a leaf sheath at the end of the stem and consist partly of hard, globular or oval, hollow, bead-like structures. Job's tear seeds differ in color, with the more soft-shelled seeds being light brown and the hard-shelled forms having a dark red pericarp.
The hardened "shells" covering the seeds are technically the fruit-case or involucre (hardened bract), with the bract also referred to as "capsule-spathe" or "sheathing bract" by some past botanical works. These shells cover the bases of the flowers (inflorescences) which are male and female racemes/panicles; the male racemes project upright and consist of overlapping scale-like spikelets, with yellow stamens that pop out in-between, and there are one or two yarn-like female racemes drooping from the base.
Proteins Job's tears, as with Coix in general, produce their own variety of α-zein prolamins. These prolamins have undergone unusually rapid evolutionary divergence from closely related grasses, by way of copy-number changes.
History Job's tears are native to Southeast Asian countries, namely India, Myanmar, China, and Malaysia. Residue on pottery from a Neolithic (late Yangshao Culture) site in north-central China shows that Job's tears, together with non-native barley and other plants, were used to brew beer as early as ca. 3000 BC.
Job's tears were already introduced to Japan (and probably cultivated alongside rice) in the Early Jōmon Period, corroborated by finds in Western Japan (Chūgoku region), e.g., from studies of phytoliths in the Asanebana Shell Midden (ca. 4000 BC) in Okayama Prefecture. And further east in Japan, the plant has been found at the Toro site, Shizuoka Prefecture dating to the Yayoi Period.
Remains of Job's tears have been found in archaeological sites in northeastern India, dating to around 1000 BC. It was introduced to the subtropical area in India from the east Himalayan belt. A number of scholars support the view it has been in cultivation in India in the 2000–1000 BC period. The wild varieties have hard-coated seeds. Job's tear was one of the earliest domesticated crops. Domestication makes the seed coat become softer and easier to cook.
In China, the current cultivation of Job's tears mainly occurs in Fujian, Jiangsu, Hebei, and Liaoning provinces. The cultivation of Job's tears spreads out to temperate areas in North and Northeast China. The shelled grains exported from China were erroneously declared through customs as "pearl barley," and "Chinese pearl barley" remains an alternate common name so that the grains are sold under such a label in Asian supermarkets, even though C. lacryma-jobi is not closely related to barley (Hordeum vulgare).
Uses Crafts The hard, white grains of Job's tears have historically been used as beads to make necklaces and other objects. The seeds are naturally bored with holes without the need to artificially puncture them. Strands of Job's tears are used as Buddhist prayer beads in parts of India, Myanmar, Laos, Taiwan, and Korea. They are also made into rosaries in countries such as the Philippines and Bolivia.
East Asia Japan In Japan, the grains growing wild are called juzudama (‘Buddhist rosary beads’), and children have made playthings out of them by stringing them into necklaces. However, juzu-dama was a corruption of zuzu-dama according to folklorist Kunio Yanagita. A type of Buddhist rosary called irataka no juzu, which were hand-made by the yamabushi ascetics practicing shugendō training, purportedly used a large-grain type known as oni-juzudama (‘oni(ogre) rosary beads’). Although this was published as a separate variety, C. lacryma jobi var. maxima Makino, it is now regarded as synonymous to C. lacryma jobi var. lacryma-jobi according to taxonomical databases (World Checklist of Selected Plant Families).
It was contended by Edo Period scholar Ono Ranzan that the soft-shelled edible type called shikoku-mugi was not introduced into Japan until the Kyōho era (1716–1736), as opposed to a hard-shelled edible type called chōsen-mugi (lit. ‘Korean wheat’) which needed to be beaten in order to crack and thresh them. This type has been published as a separate species, C. agrestis in the past, but this is now recognized also as a synonym of C. lacryma jobi var. lacryma-jobi. Thus Japanese consumption of the crop attested in pre-Kyōho literature presumably used this hard-shelled type in the recipe.
Yanagita contended that the use of the beads predated the introduction of Buddhism into Japan (552/538 CE). And the plant has not only been found at sites dating to approximately this period at the Kuroimine Site, but in Jomon period sites dating to several millennia BC.
Ocean Road Hypothesis Yanagita in his Ocean Road hypothesis argues that the pearly glistening seeds were regarded as simulating or substituting for cowrie shells, which were used as ornaments and currency throughout Southern China and Southeast Asia in antiquity, and he argued both items to be part of cultural transmission into Japan from these areas.
Later scholars have pursued the validity of the thesis. Yanagita had reproduced a distribution map of the usage of ornamental cowries throughout Asia (compiled by J. Wilfrid Jackson), and Japanese ethnologist Keiji Iwata alluded to a need for a distribution map of ornamental Job's tears, for making comparison therewith.
Mainland Southeast Asia Thailand and Myanmar The Akha people and the Karen people who live in the mountainous regions around the Thai-Myanmar border grow several varieties of the plant and use them extensively as ornaments.
Tibeto-Burman Ethnic Groups There are seven distinct varieties of Job's tears (collectively called "Phangn" or "Bhang") cultivated by Tibeto-Burman Ethnic groups in Manipur. Different varieties of these species are cultivated and used by the Anal, Aimol, Chiru, Chothe, Lamkang, Tarao, Purum, Kom, Hmar, and the Naga tribes, all of whom have a traditional practice of using the grains to make bread-like products as food.
Hills of Meghalaya, India The Khasi people, and the Garo people, who live in the hilly regions of Meghalaya, have cultivated Job's tears, locally known as "Krai," since ancient times. They make a rice-beer known as "Kiad-krai" out of this grain.
South Asia In the Malnad region of Karnataka, the Coix is grown on a small scale along with Areca palm. This grain is referred to as "Aane-akhshi" in Kannada.
China Job's tears are widely grown as a crop in parts of China, but not all Chinese provinces have been surveyed, hence it is listed as occurring wild in several regions. It is found in forests, open hillsides, and wasteland or cultivated as a crop. In Traditional Chinese medicine, Job's tears are known as a healthy food or medicine, useful for reducing heat and other effects. Chinese medicine practitioners regard it as useful for its diuretic effects, as well as to strengthen the spleen, nourish lungs, and alleviate arthritis. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the seeds are used to strengthen the spleen, to counteract damp heat, and to activate the function of the lungs. The roots and leaves are used to treat boils. The plant also shows antioxidant activity.
Other Uses Job's tears are also used as a diuretic in Ayurvedic medicine and other South Asian traditional medicines.
The grain is widely consumed throughout East Asia, especially in South Korea, China, Japan, and Thailand, and is becoming more popular in other parts of the world. The grain is sold in dried form and cooked like rice.
The grass seeds of the wild variety are very hard and can be strung as beads without cracking. They are used in the making of rosaries, necklaces, and other objects. The softer grains of the cultivated variety are ground into flour, brewed into beer, used as a coffee substitute, or cooked as porridge.
Korea In Korea, a thick drink called yulmu cha (율무차) is made from powdered Job's tears. The processed grain is also often used for various traditional teas and as a snack.
Taiwan Job's tears are a common ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine and desserts.
Thailand In Thailand, it is often consumed in a similar manner to barley and made into a tea or added to desserts.
Philippines In the Philippines, the grains are often threaded into necklaces, rosaries, and other ornaments.
India In the southern parts of India, the grain is used in some traditional dishes.
Medicinal Uses Anti-Cancer Properties Job's tears may have potential anti-cancer properties. Research has found that it may inhibit cancer cell growth and induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) in certain cancer cells.
Other Health Benefits Job's tears are considered to have various health benefits such as promoting digestion, providing anti-inflammatory effects, and acting as an antioxidant. They are also thought to support cardiovascular health, improve immune function, and help in weight management.
Culinary Uses The grain can be cooked and eaten like rice or used in soups and stews. It can also be ground into flour to make bread, cakes, or other baked goods. It is often used in traditional Asian desserts and drinks.
These amazing beads are like nothing you have ever seen, unless you have, of course, seen these amazing beads. They have been around since antiquity! I wish that I could remember when I first started growing these or why I ordered the seed, but I can’t. I know it’s been years and they do a pretty good job of self-seeding, which is why I have plants for you. The only other person I met growing these was a monk from the Northshore named Brother Austin. They make rosaries over there and people have been doing this for centuries. The actual seed has a perfect hole and the “bead” changes colors its colors of grey from light to dark and some with a bluish tint, some white. Really a stunning plant for any jeweler or creator to have.
You can do your own research about the rich history of this plant, believed to be the world’s first grain, a plant that spans time and culture. See below for an abbreviated description lifted from the Wikipedia that I have taken the liberty of removing all those annoying hyperlink footnotes.
Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi), also known as adlay or adlay millet, is a tall grain-bearing perennial tropical plant of the family Poaceae (grass family). It is native to Southeast Asia and was introduced to Northern China and India in remote antiquity. It has also been naturalized in the southern United States and the New World tropics. In its native environment, it is grown at higher elevation areas where rice and corn do not grow well. Job's tears are also commonly sold as Chinese pearl barley, though true barley belongs to a completely different genus.
There are two main varieties of the species, one wild and one cultivated. The wild variety, Coix lacryma-jobi var. lacryma-jobi, has hard-shelled pseudocarps—very hard, pearly white, oval structures used as beads for making prayer beads or rosaries, necklaces, and other objects. The cultivated variety Coix lacryma-jobi var. ma-yuen is harvested as a cereal crop, has a soft shell, and is used medicinally in parts of Asia.
Nomenclature Job's tears may also be referred to under different spellings (Job's-tears, Jobs-tears). The crop is also known by other common names in English, such as adlay or adlay millet. Other common names in English include coix seed, gromwell grass, and tear grass.
The seeds are known in Chinese as yìyǐ rén (薏苡仁), where rén means "kernel", and also described in Latin as semen coicis or semen coicis lachryma-jobi in pharmacopoeic literature.
Taxonomy The species, native to Southeast Asia, was named by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 with the epithet as a Latin translation of the metaphorical tear of Job. As of February 2015, four varieties are accepted by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families:
Coix lacryma-jobi var. lacryma-jobi: Widely distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent to peninsular Malaysia and Taiwan; naturalized elsewhere. The involucres are ovoid, bony, and glossy. It has hard shells and is used as beads in crafts.
Coix lacryma-jobi var. ma-yuen (Rom.Caill.) Stapf: South China to peninsular Malaysia and the Philippines. The varietal name is eponymous after General Ma Yuen or Ma Yuan who, according to legend, learned of the plant's use when he was posted in Cochin China (or Tonkin, in what is now Vietnam), and brought the seeds back to China to be cultivated. The involucres are elliptical, striate, and soft.
Coix lacryma-jobi var. puellarum (Balansa) A.Camus: Assam to Yunnan (China) and Indochina. It is the smallest among the Indian species, with only 4mm in diameter of the seeds. It is used for ornament as well.
Coix lacryma-jobi var. stenocarpa Oliv.: Eastern Himalayas to Indochina. Job's tears—along with Coix in—was formerly placed in the Maydeae, now known to be polyphyletic. It has cylindrical, longer than broad involucres. It is widely used as beads for ornaments.
Morphology Job's tear is a monoecious grass that is broad-leaved, loose-growing, branched, and robust. It can reach a height between 1.20 m to 1.80 m. Like all members of the genus, their inflorescences develop from a leaf sheath at the end of the stem and consist partly of hard, globular or oval, hollow, bead-like structures. Job's tear seeds differ in color, with the more soft-shelled seeds being light brown and the hard-shelled forms having a dark red pericarp.
The hardened "shells" covering the seeds are technically the fruit-case or involucre (hardened bract), with the bract also referred to as "capsule-spathe" or "sheathing bract" by some past botanical works. These shells cover the bases of the flowers (inflorescences) which are male and female racemes/panicles; the male racemes project upright and consist of overlapping scale-like spikelets, with yellow stamens that pop out in-between, and there are one or two yarn-like female racemes drooping from the base.
Proteins Job's tears, as with Coix in general, produce their own variety of α-zein prolamins. These prolamins have undergone unusually rapid evolutionary divergence from closely related grasses, by way of copy-number changes.
History Job's tears are native to Southeast Asian countries, namely India, Myanmar, China, and Malaysia. Residue on pottery from a Neolithic (late Yangshao Culture) site in north-central China shows that Job's tears, together with non-native barley and other plants, were used to brew beer as early as ca. 3000 BC.
Job's tears were already introduced to Japan (and probably cultivated alongside rice) in the Early Jōmon Period, corroborated by finds in Western Japan (Chūgoku region), e.g., from studies of phytoliths in the Asanebana Shell Midden (ca. 4000 BC) in Okayama Prefecture. And further east in Japan, the plant has been found at the Toro site, Shizuoka Prefecture dating to the Yayoi Period.
Remains of Job's tears have been found in archaeological sites in northeastern India, dating to around 1000 BC. It was introduced to the subtropical area in India from the east Himalayan belt. A number of scholars support the view it has been in cultivation in India in the 2000–1000 BC period. The wild varieties have hard-coated seeds. Job's tear was one of the earliest domesticated crops. Domestication makes the seed coat become softer and easier to cook.
In China, the current cultivation of Job's tears mainly occurs in Fujian, Jiangsu, Hebei, and Liaoning provinces. The cultivation of Job's tears spreads out to temperate areas in North and Northeast China. The shelled grains exported from China were erroneously declared through customs as "pearl barley," and "Chinese pearl barley" remains an alternate common name so that the grains are sold under such a label in Asian supermarkets, even though C. lacryma-jobi is not closely related to barley (Hordeum vulgare).
Uses Crafts The hard, white grains of Job's tears have historically been used as beads to make necklaces and other objects. The seeds are naturally bored with holes without the need to artificially puncture them. Strands of Job's tears are used as Buddhist prayer beads in parts of India, Myanmar, Laos, Taiwan, and Korea. They are also made into rosaries in countries such as the Philippines and Bolivia.
East Asia Japan In Japan, the grains growing wild are called juzudama (‘Buddhist rosary beads’), and children have made playthings out of them by stringing them into necklaces. However, juzu-dama was a corruption of zuzu-dama according to folklorist Kunio Yanagita. A type of Buddhist rosary called irataka no juzu, which were hand-made by the yamabushi ascetics practicing shugendō training, purportedly used a large-grain type known as oni-juzudama (‘oni(ogre) rosary beads’). Although this was published as a separate variety, C. lacryma jobi var. maxima Makino, it is now regarded as synonymous to C. lacryma jobi var. lacryma-jobi according to taxonomical databases (World Checklist of Selected Plant Families).
It was contended by Edo Period scholar Ono Ranzan that the soft-shelled edible type called shikoku-mugi was not introduced into Japan until the Kyōho era (1716–1736), as opposed to a hard-shelled edible type called chōsen-mugi (lit. ‘Korean wheat’) which needed to be beaten in order to crack and thresh them. This type has been published as a separate species, C. agrestis in the past, but this is now recognized also as a synonym of C. lacryma jobi var. lacryma-jobi. Thus Japanese consumption of the crop attested in pre-Kyōho literature presumably used this hard-shelled type in the recipe.
Yanagita contended that the use of the beads predated the introduction of Buddhism into Japan (552/538 CE). And the plant has not only been found at sites dating to approximately this period at the Kuroimine Site, but in Jomon period sites dating to several millennia BC.
Ocean Road Hypothesis Yanagita in his Ocean Road hypothesis argues that the pearly glistening seeds were regarded as simulating or substituting for cowrie shells, which were used as ornaments and currency throughout Southern China and Southeast Asia in antiquity, and he argued both items to be part of cultural transmission into Japan from these areas.
Later scholars have pursued the validity of the thesis. Yanagita had reproduced a distribution map of the usage of ornamental cowries throughout Asia (compiled by J. Wilfrid Jackson), and Japanese ethnologist Keiji Iwata alluded to a need for a distribution map of ornamental Job's tears, for making comparison therewith.
Mainland Southeast Asia Thailand and Myanmar The Akha people and the Karen people who live in the mountainous regions around the Thai-Myanmar border grow several varieties of the plant and use them extensively as ornaments.
Tibeto-Burman Ethnic Groups There are seven distinct varieties of Job's tears (collectively called "Phangn" or "Bhang") cultivated by Tibeto-Burman Ethnic groups in Manipur. Different varieties of these species are cultivated and used by the Anal, Aimol, Chiru, Chothe, Lamkang, Tarao, Purum, Kom, Hmar, and the Naga tribes, all of whom have a traditional practice of using the grains to make bread-like products as food.
Hills of Meghalaya, India The Khasi people, and the Garo people, who live in the hilly regions of Meghalaya, have cultivated Job's tears, locally known as "Krai," since ancient times. They make a rice-beer known as "Kiad-krai" out of this grain.
South Asia In the Malnad region of Karnataka, the Coix is grown on a small scale along with Areca palm. This grain is referred to as "Aane-akhshi" in Kannada.
China Job's tears are widely grown as a crop in parts of China, but not all Chinese provinces have been surveyed, hence it is listed as occurring wild in several regions. It is found in forests, open hillsides, and wasteland or cultivated as a crop. In Traditional Chinese medicine, Job's tears are known as a healthy food or medicine, useful for reducing heat and other effects. Chinese medicine practitioners regard it as useful for its diuretic effects, as well as to strengthen the spleen, nourish lungs, and alleviate arthritis. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the seeds are used to strengthen the spleen, to counteract damp heat, and to activate the function of the lungs. The roots and leaves are used to treat boils. The plant also shows antioxidant activity.
Other Uses Job's tears are also used as a diuretic in Ayurvedic medicine and other South Asian traditional medicines.
The grain is widely consumed throughout East Asia, especially in South Korea, China, Japan, and Thailand, and is becoming more popular in other parts of the world. The grain is sold in dried form and cooked like rice.
The grass seeds of the wild variety are very hard and can be strung as beads without cracking. They are used in the making of rosaries, necklaces, and other objects. The softer grains of the cultivated variety are ground into flour, brewed into beer, used as a coffee substitute, or cooked as porridge.
Korea In Korea, a thick drink called yulmu cha (율무차) is made from powdered Job's tears. The processed grain is also often used for various traditional teas and as a snack.
Taiwan Job's tears are a common ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine and desserts.
Thailand In Thailand, it is often consumed in a similar manner to barley and made into a tea or added to desserts.
Philippines In the Philippines, the grains are often threaded into necklaces, rosaries, and other ornaments.
India In the southern parts of India, the grain is used in some traditional dishes.
Medicinal Uses Anti-Cancer Properties Job's tears may have potential anti-cancer properties. Research has found that it may inhibit cancer cell growth and induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) in certain cancer cells.
Other Health Benefits Job's tears are considered to have various health benefits such as promoting digestion, providing anti-inflammatory effects, and acting as an antioxidant. They are also thought to support cardiovascular health, improve immune function, and help in weight management.
Culinary Uses The grain can be cooked and eaten like rice or used in soups and stews. It can also be ground into flour to make bread, cakes, or other baked goods. It is often used in traditional Asian desserts and drinks.