Coix lacryma-jobi

Perennial growing to 1 m (3ft 3in) tall by 0.2 m (8in) spread. Hardy to UK zone 9 and USDA zones listed above. In leaf May to October, flowers July to October, seeds ripen September to November. Monoecious with wind-pollinated flowers. Grows in light sandy, medium loamy, or heavy clay soils with mildly acid to basic pH; tolerates very acid soils. Requires full sun and prefers moist conditions.

Description

A millet grass. It is a loosely tufted, tall, annual grass. It grows up to 1-2 m high with long slender leaves. The stems have a soft, white, centre inside. The leaves can be 60 cm long and 3-5 cm wide. The sheath of the leaf around the stem, is short. The flower stalk is long and arching. Male and female flowers are in separate spikes on the flowering stalk. The female flowers have a hard covering which changes from green to black to white, as it ripens. Male flowers are small and on top. The seed is like a bead and used for necklaces. They are 1.5 cm long. The seeds are green when young, and turn to pearly grey or purple when mature.

Edible Uses

The seed (referring to the ssp. ma-yuen) is cooked and has a pleasant mild flavour. It can be used in soups and broths, ground into flour for bread-making, or used in the same ways as rice. Pounded flour is sometimes mixed with water like barley water, or fried and coated with sugar to make a sweet dish. The seed can also be husked and eaten out of hand like a peanut. Nutritionally, the seed contains approximately 52% starch, 18% protein and 7% fat — higher in protein and fat than rice but low in minerals. It has a higher protein-to-carbohydrate ratio than any other cereal, though the hard seedcoat makes flour extraction difficult. A tea can be made from parched seeds, and beers and wines are produced from the fermented grain. A coffee substitute is made from the roasted seed. Per 100g fresh weight the seed provides 380 calories, with 11.2% water, 15.4g protein, 6.2g fat, 65.3g carbohydrate, 0.8g fibre, 1.9g ash, 25mg calcium, 435mg phosphorus, 5mg iron, 0.28mg thiamine (B1), 0.19mg riboflavin (B2) and 4.3mg niacin.

Traditional Uses

The seeds are eaten raw. They can be cooked like rice. The seeds can be crushed to produce a cereal flour. This is best mixed with wheat flour to make a lighter but tasty flour. The seeds are used in soups, porridges, drinks or pastries. It is used for brewing beer. The parched seeds are used for a tea-like drink.

Medicinal Uses

The fruits are anodyne, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, hypoglycaemic, hypotensive, sedative and vermifuge. They are used in folk remedies for abdominal tumours, oesophageal, gastrointestinal and lung cancers, various tumours, and also for excrescences, warts and whitlows. This folk reputation is supported by research showing that coixenolide, one of the plant's active constituents, has antitumour activity. The seed with the husk removed is antirheumatic, diuretic, pectoral, refrigerant and tonic. A tea made from boiled seeds is drunk as part of a treatment for warts, and is also used for lung abscess, lobar pneumonia, appendicitis, rheumatoid arthritis, beriberi, diarrhoea, oedema and difficult urination. The plant has been used in treating cancer. The roots have been used for menstrual disorders, and a decoction of the root is used as an anthelmintic. Fruit is harvested when ripe in autumn; husks are removed before use fresh, roasted or fermented.

Distribution

A tropical and subtropical plant. It grows wild and semi-cultivated in many areas of Papua New Guinea. It is well suited to grow in swampy places. It grows in wetlands. It grows up to 2000 m altitude in the tropics. It needs a temperature above 13-16°C. It suits hardiness zones 9-11. In Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Africa, American Samoa, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Bhutan, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central America, China, Colombia, Congo DR, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Easter Island, Ecuador, Fiji, Ghana, Guam, Guiana, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Japan, Korea, Laos, Liberia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mariana Islands, Marquesas, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Niue, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America*, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies,

Cultivation

Succeeds in ordinary garden soil. Best grown in an open sunny border. Prefers a little shelter from the wind. Job's Tears is reported to tolerate an annual precipitation in the range of 61 to 429cm, an average annual temperature of 9.6 to 27.8°C and a pH in the range of 4.5 to 8.4. Weed to some, necklace to others, staff-of-life to others, job's tear is a very useful and productive grass increasingly viewed as a potential energy source. Before corn (Zea mays) became popular in Southern Asia, Job's tears was rather widely cultivated as a cereal in India. It is a potentially very useful grain having a higher protein to carbohydrate ratio than any other cereal. The seed has a very tough shell however making it rather difficult to extract the grain. The ssp. ma-yuen. (Roman.)Stapf. is grown for its edible seed and medicinal virtues in China, the seedcoat is said to be soft and easily removed. This form is widely used in macrobiotic diets and cuisine. The ssp. stenocarpa is used for beads. Whilst usually grown as an annual, the plant is perennial in essentially frost-free areas. Plants have survived temperatures down to about -35°c. (This report needs verifying, it seems rather dubious.) Plants have often overwintered when growing in a polyhouse with us, they have then gone on to produce another crop of seed in their second year. We have not as yet (1995) tried growing them on for a third year in a polyhouse.

Propagation

Pre-soak seed for 2 hours in warm water and sow in February or March in a greenhouse. Germination usually occurs in 3–4 weeks at 25°C. Prick seedlings out into individual pots when large enough to handle, grow on in cool conditions and plant out in late spring after the last expected frosts. Seed can also be sown in situ in May, though it is unlikely to ripen in an average British summer. In a suitable climate it takes about 4–5 months from seed to produce new seed. Root offshoots can also be divided, which is best done in spring as plants come into fresh growth.

Other Uses

The seeds are used as decorative beads. The stems are used to make matting.

Production

Seeds are ready to harvest about 5 months after sowing. On poor soils in dry conditions, hollow fruits may be produced. The tough seed shell has to be broken.

Other Information

Common in most areas of Papua New Guinea but rarely eaten. It is eaten often in some places e.g. Mendi Valley. Similarly in many tropical countries, the thin shelled form is used as food. It is a cultivated food plant.

Notes

Chemical composition (grams /100g): Protein = 18.81g. Fat = 6.2g. Carbohydrate (soluble) = 59.55g. Fibre = 1.28g. Ash = 3.4g. Water = 10.74g. Calories = 378.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Adlay millet, Adlay, Anjalai, Bbirkaulo, Bilen, Bonco, Butsu wasil, Canelos muyu, Chuan gu, Cura huea, Deuy, Duei, Gurgur, Holo, Hongo, Isangu, Jali, Jali-jali, Jangali zuvaai, Jargadi, Jelai pulut, Jelai, Joli, Juzudama, Ka-leik, Kalein, Kapi tape, Kasaiya, Kattu kundumani, Kola, Kolgowa, Kyeik, Miimtang, Mwahile hile, Netpavalam, Nongo, Oshiito, Pikopiko, Pooshakkal, Ranmakkai, Sanasana, Sankru, Senjelai, Shankru, Sku'ey, Sohriu, Tear-grass, Tiaku, Trigo tropical, Tumdak, Wasil, Yi yi, Yusari

References (81)

• References for Job's tears Coix lacryma-jobi.
• Altschul, S.V.R., 1973, Drugs and Foods from Little-known Plants. Notes in Harvard University Herbaria. Harvard Univ. Press. Massachusetts. no. 10
• Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 135
• Anderson, E. F., 1993, Plants and people of the Golden Triangle. Dioscorides Press. p 207
• Arora, R. K., 2014, Diversity in Underutilized Plant Species - An Asia-Pacific Perspective. Bioversity International. p 102

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