Abrus

(Genus)

Abrus is a genus of 13â€“18 species in the family Fabaceae, best known for one species, Abrus precatorius, Jequirity. The seeds of that species are used in beading and are infamous for their toxicity.

Abrus aureus. Madagascar.
Abrus baladensis. Somalia.
Abrus bottae. Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Abrus canescens. Africa.
Abrus diversifoliatus. Madagascar.
Abrus fruticulosus. India.
Abrus gawenensis. Somalia.
Abrus laevigatus. Southern Africa.
Abrus longibracteatus. Laos and Vietnam.
Abrus madagascariensis. Madagascar.
Abrus parvifolius. Madagascar.
Abrus precatorius. Pantropics.
Abrus pulchellus. Africa.
Abrus sambiranensis. Madagascar.
Abrus schimperi. Africa.
Abrus somalensis. Somalia.
Abrus wittei. Zaire.

Photos

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Abrus fruticulosus Abrus fruticulosus Creeping plant, on stems up to 4m tall. Fruits like short beans with pointed tips. Photographer: Patrick Ekpe Date Taken: November 17, 2005
Location Taken: Ghana: About 3km from Gambaga township. Rocky savanna woodland dorminated by with tall grasses. Copyright: © 2005 Patrick Ekpe Permissions for Use: see here. ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 145611

Abrus fruticulosus Abrus precatorius Photographer: Tatiana Anderson Copyright: © TopTropicals.com Permissions for Use: see here. ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 96863

Abrus fruticulosus Abrus precatorius Climber, with small pinnate leaves. Dry dehiscent fruits and many red seeds with black spots. Leaves are sweet and medicinal. Seeds are deadly poisonous. Photographer: Patrick Ekpe Date Taken: April 23, 2005
Location Taken: Ghana: Along Mole river at Mognori village; 12km from the Mole National Park main gate. Copyright: © 2005 Patrick Ekpe Permissions for Use: see here. ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 145615

Abrus fruticulosus Abrus precatorius Photographer: TopTropicals.com Copyright: © TopTropicals.com Permissions for Use: see here. ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 96862

Abrus fruticulosus Abrus precatorius Photographer: Harold St. John Copyright: © Harold St. John ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 117951

Abrus fruticulosus Abrus precatorius Seeds of Abrus precatorius Photographer: Robert J. Gibbons ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 149298

Abrus fruticulosus Abrus precatorius Photographer: David Stang Date Taken: November 07, 2005
Location Taken: United States Botanic Garden Copyright: © 2005 David Stang ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 82303

Map

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Taxonomy

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Domain: Eukaryota Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Plantae Haeckel, 1866 - Plants
  - Subkingdom: Viridaeplantae Cavalier-Smith, 1981 - Green Plants
    - Phylum: Magnoliophyta Cronquist, Takhtajan & W. Zimmermann, 1966 - Flowering Plants
      - Subphylum: Spermatophytina (auct.) Cavalier-Smith, 1998 - Seed Plants
        Infraphylum: Angiospermae auct.
        Class: Magnoliopsida Brongniart, 1843 - Dicotyledons
        Subclass: Rosidae Takhtajan, 1967
        Superorder: Fabanae R. Dahlgren ex Reveal, 1993
        Order: Fabales Bromhead, 1838
        Family: Fabaceae Lindley, 1836 - Bean Family
        Subfamily: Faboideae
        Tribe: Abreae
        Genus: Abrus (AY-brus) Linnaeus, 1753 - Abrus

The Genus Abrus is further organized into finer groupings including:

Species: ZipcodeZoo has pages for 43 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in the Genus Abrus: A. melanospermus suffruticosus · A. melanospermus tenuiflorus · A. aureus · A. aureus aureus · A. aureus littoralis · A. baladensis · A. bottae · A. canescens · A. cantonensis · A. precatorius subsp. africanus · A. diversifoliatus · A. diversifoliolatus · A. fruticulosus · A. gawenensis · A. gracilis · A. laevigatus · A. longibracteatus · A. lusorius · A. madagascariensis · A. melanospermus subsp. suffruticosus · A. melanospermus subsp. tenuiflorus · A. parvifolius · A. precatorius (Black-Eyed Susan) · A. precatorius africanus · A. precatorius precatorius · A. precatorius subsp. africanus · A. pulchellum · A. pulchellus · A. pulchellus cantoniensis · A. pulchellus mollis · A. pulchellus pulchellus · A. pulchellus suffruticosus · A. pulchellus tenuiflorus · A. pulchellus var. tenuiflorus · A. repens · A. sambiranensis · A. schimperi · A. schimperi africanus · A. schimperi oblongus · A. schimperi schimperi · A. somalensis · A. stictospermus · A. wittei

References

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ILDIS Legume database

Sources

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The text on this page is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It includes material from Wikipedia retrieved Monday, May 26, 2008.
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Last Revised: May 29, 2008