Common Name: Job's Tears

General Information

Coix lacryma-jobi is an erect, annual to perennial, strongly tillering grass with erect, robust culms growing 1 - 3 metres tall[, ].
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 still occasionally cultivated and is a potentially very useful grain, having a higher protein to carbohydrate ratio than any other cereal[]. The plant is also grown as an ornamental in tropical to temperate areas.
The plant is seen as a weed in some areas[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

E. Asia - China, Indian subcontinent, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea.

Habitat

Wet places in grassland in the foothills of the Himalayas[, ]. Open sunny places; at elevations up to 2,000 metres in Nepal[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	1.00 m
Pollinators	Wind
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Coix lacryma-job grows best in the moister areas of the tropics, succeeding at elevations up to 2,000 metres[]. It is reported to tolerate an annual precipitation in the range of 610 - 4290mm and an average annual temperature range from 9.6 to 27.8°c[]. Plants are not very tolerant of frost[], though one report that needs veryfying says that some forms of the plant are said to be very cold tolerant, with reports of plants surviving occasional lows to -35°c[].
Grows best in a sunny position[, ]. Succeeds in ordinary garden soil, but best results are obtained when grown in reasonably fertile conditions[, ]. Prefers a little shelter from the wind. Grows best in a pH within the range 4.5 - 8.4[].
In a suitable climate, it takes about 4 - 5 months from seed to produce new seed[]. Usually, whole plants are cut at the base when the grain is ripe. The stubble can be left in the field and will then regrow[].
Normal yield of husked grain varies from 2 - 4 tonnes per hectare. The hulling percentage is 30 - 50%[].
Whilst usually grown as an annual, the plant is perennial in essentially frost-free areas[].
The seed has a very tough shell, making it rather difficult to extract the grain[, ].
The subspecies 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 subspecies stenocarpa is the form most commonly used for beads[].

Edible Uses

Seed - cooked. A pleasant mild flavour, it can be used in soups and broths[]. It can be ground into a flour and used to make bread or used in any of the ways that rice is used[, , , , ]. The pounded flour is sometimes mixed with water like barley for barley water[]. The pounded kernel is also made into a sweet dish by frying and coating with sugar[]. It is also husked and eaten out of hand like a peanut[]. The seed contains about 52% starch, 18% protein, 7% fat[, ]. It is higher in protein and fat than rice but low in minerals[]. This is a potentially very useful grain, it has a higher protein to carbohydrate ratio than any other cereal[], though the hard seedcoat makes extraction of the flour rather difficult.

A tea can be made from the parched seeds[, , , ], whilst beers and wines are made from the fermented grain[].

A coffee is made from the roasted seed[]. (This report refers to the ssp. ma-yuen)

Medicinal

The fruits are anodyne, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, hypoglycaemic, hypotensive, sedative and vermifuge[, ]. The fruits are used in folk remedies in the treatment of abdominal tumours, oesophageal, gastrointestinal, and lung cancers, various tumours, as well as excrescences, warts, and whitlows. This folk reputation is all the more interesting when reading that one of the active constituents of the plant, coixenolide, has antitumor activity[].

The seed, with the husk removed, is a nutritive tonic with antirheumatic, diuretic, pectoral and refrigerant properties[, , ]. It is used particularly in treating conditions such as enteritis and persistent diarrhoea in children, and is is also used in the treatment of conditions such as lung abscess, lobar pneumonia, appendicitis, rheumatoid arthritis, beriberi, oedema and difficult urination[, ]. A tea made from the boiled seeds is drunk as part of a treatment to cure warts[, ].

The plant has been used in the treatment of cancer[].

The roots have been used in the treatment of menstrual disorders[]. A decoction of the root has been used as an anthelmintic[].

The fruit is harvested when ripe in the autumn and the husks are removed before using fresh, roasted or fermented[].

Other Uses

The seeds are used as decorative beads[, , , , ].

The stems are used to make matting[].

Propagation

Seed - pre-soak for 2 hours in warm water and sow late winter/early spring in a greenhouse[]. The seed usually germinates in 3 - 4 weeks at 25°c. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots. Grow them 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 would be unlikely to ripen its seed in an average British summer. In a suitable climate, it takes about 4 - 5 months from seed to produce new seed[].
Division of root offshoots[]. This is probably best done in the spring as plants come into fresh growth[].