Abrus Precatorius

The rosary pea of Indian hedges, whose scarlet seeds once served as the jeweller's ratti, traditionally linked in homoeopathy with sore, inflamed eyes.

Abrus precatorius is the rosary pea, or jequirity, a slender climbing vine of the pea family native to India and now found across the tropics. Its glossy scarlet seeds, each with a black spot, are strung as beads, and in India they were long used as the ratti, a jeweller's weight. The seeds are highly poisonous; homoeopathy uses them only in specially prepared form.

Its sweet root has served as a substitute for liquorice, which gives the plant the name Indian liquorice. In homoeopathy it is known mainly as a remedy for the eyes, traditionally associated with sore, red, inflamed eyes and with rough, granular, swollen eyelids.

• Sore, inflamed eyes
• Rough, granular eyelids
• Red, watery eyes