Abrus precatoriusL.

rosarypea

WFO wfo-0000178702 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Abrus precatorius, photographed by Greg Tasney
fig. a Greg Tasney, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2022-06-05 / obs. 203464537
Abrus precatorius, photographed by Josiah Londerée
fig. b Josiah Londerée, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 198449495
Abrus precatorius, photographed by Dinesh Valke
fig. c Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 197821592
Abrus precatorius, photographed by Robin White
fig. d Robin White, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 194020254
Abrus precatorius, photographed by Josiah Londerée
fig. e Josiah Londerée, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 193389816
Abrus precatorius, photographed by Margaret Burger
fig. f Margaret Burger, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 194448227
Abrus precatorius, photographed by Neli Kanonerova
fig. g Neli Kanonerova, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 194621194
Abrus precatorius, photographed by Tom Lazar
fig. h Tom Lazar, CC0 1.0 / obs. 198506670

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 72 botanical countries

Regions where Abrus precatorius is native: Aldabra, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Cape Verde, Caprivi Strip, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China South-Central, China Southeast, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Yemen, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicobar Is., Pakistan, South China Sea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia AngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCameroonCape ProvincesCaprivi StripCentral African RepublicChadCongoDR CongoEquatorial GuineaEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaGabonGambiaGuineaGuinea-BissauGulf of Guinea Is.Ivory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLiberiaMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNorthern ProvincesRwandaSenegalSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweChina South-CentralChina SoutheastSaudi ArabiaTaiwanYemenAssamBangladeshCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaLaosMalayaMyanmarNepalPakistanSri LankaThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNew South WalesNorthern TerritoryQueenslandWestern Australia AldabraCape VerdeComorosSeychellesAndaman Is.Nicobar Is.South China Sea
Native distribution of Abrus precatorius, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Aldabra ALD AFRICA
Angola ANG
Benin BEN
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Cape Provinces CPP
Cape Verde CVI
Caprivi Strip CPV
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Comoros COM
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Equatorial Guinea EQG
Eritrea ERI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Gabon GAB
Gambia GAM
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Gulf of Guinea Is. GGI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Liberia LBR
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Northern Provinces TVL
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Seychelles SEY
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
Cambodia CBD
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Laos LAO
Malaya MLY
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
Nicobar Is. NCB
Pakistan PAK
South China Sea SCS
Sri Lanka SRL
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
China South-Central CHC ASIA-TEMPERATE
China Southeast CHS
Saudi Arabia SAU
Taiwan TAI
Yemen YEM
New South Wales NSW AUSTRALASIA
Northern Territory NTA
Queensland QLD
Western Australia WAU

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Flowering 107 in flower of 746 examined

Peak flowering in Sep. Each bar is the share of Abrus precatorius observations in which someone actually recorded the reproductive state and found the plant in flower, not the raw number of flowering records. That distinction matters: people observe plants far more in spring than in winter, so a bare count of flowering records partly measures when people go outside. Dividing by the number examined removes that. 107 of 746 examined observations were in flower, every one of them research grade. The whisker on each bar is a 95% Wilson interval. This is still a global aggregate and not a forecast for your garden: the same species flowers on different dates in different hemispheres. Where a species has fewer than 30 flowering records we do not draw this chart at all. Computed from 10.15468/dl.cgje2x.

Also published as 16 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Abrus abrus (L.) W.Wight
  • Abrus maculatus Noronha
  • Abrus minor Desv.
  • Abrus pauciflorus Desv.
  • Abrus precatorius f. luteoseminalis H.St.John
  • Abrus precatorius var. albospermum M.A.Hassan, M.O.Rahman & Afroz
  • Abrus precatorius var. erythrospermus Voigt
  • Abrus precatorius var. leucospermus Voigt
  • Abrus precatorius var. melanospermus Voigt
  • Abrus precatorius var. novoguineensis Zipp. ex Miq.
  • Abrus squamulosus E.Mey.
  • Abrus tunguensis Pires de Lima
  • Glycine abrus L.
  • Orobus americanus Mill.
  • Zaga latifolia Raf.
  • Zaga parvifolia Raf.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.