Rosary Pea // Brain Bites
Channel: Brain Bites
Date: 2015-03-08

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Animated by Alex Trimpe - http://alextrimpe.com
Voiceover by Mandy Rose – http://mandyrose.com

The rosary pea contains a poison called abrin, which is nearly twice as toxic as ricin. Just 1 of the seeds can kill a human, yet they have often been used in jewelry. 

Inhaled dust from the seed is toxic and pinpricks can be fatal, but if you boil the peas, the high temperatures will remove the toxins.

The rosary pea is native to India and grows abundantly in Surinam and Indonesia, but can be found in Hawaii, and Florida. 

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Photos by Steve Hurst, Homer Edward Price, Rik Schuiling / TropCrop - TCS, Lachezar Nikolov

Illustrations by Jens Tärning from thenounproject.com

Sources: http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/node/23
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/abrin/basics/facts.asp
http://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/photos/13-plants-that-could-kill-you/rosary-pea