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Contact SupplierJob's Tears (Coix lacryma-jobi), Coixseed, Tear Grass, adlay, or adlai, is a tall grain-bearing tropical plant of the family Poaceae (grass family), attain a height of 1-2mt. native to Southeast Asia but elsewhere cultivated in gardens as an annual. Stem is erect, with brace roots from the lower nodes. Inflorecense prolific. Seeds yellow, purple, white or brown. The grass is monoecious with separate male and female flowers. There are soft-shelled forms for eating and hard-shelled ones for ornamentation. It is native to tropical Asia. It is not tolerant to drought. The seed is sown 5cm. deep and covered. 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).
There are two main varieties of the species. Wild type Coix lacryma-jobi var. stenocarpa and var. monilifer has hard shelled pseudocarps which are very hard, pearly white, oval structures used as beads for making rosaries, necklaces, and other objects. Cultivated type Coix lacryma-jobi var. ma-yuen is harvested as a cereal crop, has soft shell, and is used medicinally in parts of Asia.