What is the Scientific Name For Job's Tears

I have found them and cooked them properly. You are right about price and size. They are about 2 times larger than regular barley with a long cut in the middle and have some hard shell pieces somewhat in the soup. Do you know the scientific name for the plant?


Answer: (Per Wikipedia) Job's Tears (Scientific Name: Coix lacryma-jobi), Coixseed, Tear Grass, adlay, or adlai, is a tall grain-bearing tropical plant of the family Poaceae (grass family) native to East Asia and peninsular Malaysia but elsewhere cultivated in gardens as an annual.

It has been naturalized in the southern United States and the New World tropics. In its native environment it is grown in higher areas where rice and corn do not grow well. Vyjanti beads is also commonly, but misleadingly, sold as Chinese pearl barley in Asian supermarkets, despite the fact that C. lacryma-jobi are not of the same genus as barley (Hordeum vulgare).


Two varieties of the species are grown. Coix lacryma-jobi var. lacryma-jobi has hard shelled pseudocarps which are very hard, pearly white, oval structures used as beads for making rosaries, necklaces, and other objects. Coix lacryma-jobi var. ma-yuen is harvested as a cereal crop and is used medicinally in parts of Asia. Resource Link.