Abrus Precatorius

Wild liquorice. This twining, leguminous plant

is a native of the East, but is now found in the West Indies and

other tropical regions. It is chiefly remarkable for its small

oval seeds, which are of a brilliant scarlet color, with a black

scar at the place where they are attached to the pods. These seeds

are much used for necklaces and other ornamental purposes, and are

employed in India as a standard of weight, under the name of Rati.

The weight of the famous Kohinoor diamond is known to have been

ascertained in this way. The roots afford liquorice, which is

extracted in the same manner as that from the true Spanish

liquorice plant, the _Glycyrrhiza glabra_. Recently the claim was

made that the weather could be foretold by certain movements of

the leaves of this plant, but experimental tests have proved its

fallacy.