Job's tears

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Job's tears
Coix lacryma-jobi1.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Panicoideae
Tribe: Andropogoneae
Genus: Coix
Species: C. lacryma-jobi
Binomial name
Coix lacryma-jobi
  • Coix agrestis Lour.
  • Coix arundinacea Lam.
  • Coix exaltata Jacq.
  • Coix lacryma L.

Job's tears (US) or Job's-tears (UK),[1] scientific name Coix lacryma-jobi, also known as coixseed, tear grass, hato mugi, adlay or adlai, is a tall grain-bearing perennial tropical plant of the family Poaceae (grass family) native to Southeast Asia[2] 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. Job's tears are also commonly sold as Chinese pearl barley in Asian supermarkets, although C. lacryma-jobi is not closely related to barley (Hordeum vulgare).

There are two main varieties of the species:

  • The wild variety 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.


The species was named by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. As of February 2015, four varieties are accepted by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families:[4]



C. lacryma-jobi plant with flowers and fruit in Nepal

Besides the use for ornamental purposes, Job's tears grains are useful as a source of food (cereals) and folk medicine.[5][6]

Throughout East Asia, Job's tears are available in dried form and cooked as a grain. The grains are generally spherical, with a groove on one end, and polished white in color, though in Japan unpolished yuuki hatomugi, which is unpolished and brown in color, is also available.

In Korea, a thick drink called yulmu cha (율무차, literally "Job's tears tea") is made from powdered Job's tears. A similar drink, called Yi Ren Jiang (薏仁漿), also appears in Chinese cuisine, and is made by simmering whole polished Job's tears in water and sweetening the resulting thin, cloudy liquid with sugar. The grains are usually strained from the liquid but may also be consumed separately or together.

C. lacryma-jobi seeds in a necklace prepared in the Zulu tradition

In both Korea and China, distilled liquors are also made from the grain. One such example is the South Korean liquor called okroju (옥로주; hanja: ), which is made from rice and Job's tears. An ancient Chinese beer recipe included the grain as an ingredient.[7] In Japan, an aged vinegar is made from the grain.[8]

In southern Vietnam, a sweet, cold soup called sâm bổ lượng has Job's Tears as one of its ingredients. This dish derives from the southern Chinese tong sui called qīng bǔ liáng (; Cantonese: ching1 bou2 leung4).

In Thailand, it is often consumed in teas and other drinks, such as soy milk.

It is also used alongside other herbs in traditional Chinese medicine. Particularly Coix lacryma-jobi var. ma-yuen has been used in the traditional Chinese medicine to invigorate the spleen function and promote urination, alleviate arthritis, arrest diarrhea, remove heat and facilitate the drainage of pus.[9]



  5. ^ Hill A.F. (1952). Economic Botany. McGraw-Hill. 
  6. ^ Duke J.A. (1983). Handbook of Energy Crops. 
  7. ^ "Revealing a 5,000-u old beer recipe in China". National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Retrieved 2016-06-03. 
  8. ^ "Traditional Japanese foods - Hato Mugi Vinegar". Natural Import Company. Retrieved 2012-01-10. 
  9. ^ Wang L, Waltenberger B, Pferschy-Wenzig EM, Blunder M, Liu X, Malainer C, Blazevic T, Schwaiger S, Rollinger JM, Heiss EH, Schuster D, Kopp B, Bauer R, Stuppner H, Dirsch VM, Atanasov AG (29 July 2014). "Natural product agonists of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ): a review". Biochem Pharmacol. 92: 73–89. doi:10.1016/j.bcp.2014.07.018. PMC 4212005free to read. PMID 25083916. 

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