Job's Tears

薏仁（学名：Coix lacryma-jobi），别名：草黍子（东北）、川谷，六谷子（四川），菩提珠（江苏），草珠子（山东），苡米（福建），薏仁米，沟子米。属禾本科薏苡属。中国分布较广，日本亦产。

 薏仁为一年生或多年生草本。根系强大，宿根。秆直立粗壮，有分枝；叶线状披针形，中脉粗厚；单性花，雌雄同株，总状花序腋生或顶生，雌小穗位于花序基部，外包以念珠状总苞，雄小穗无柄或具柄，数丛，排列在花序上部，呈穗状；颖果椭圆形淡褐色，有光泽。性喜温暖湿润气候，耐涝。

薏仁种仁又称米仁，含淀粉，供食用或酿酒，雖為穀類，但其脂肪和蛋白質含量很高，且容易代謝，因此吃多了也不會有變胖的擔憂。中医学上用根和种仁入药，种仁性微寒、味甘，功能清热利湿、健脾，主治水肿脚气、风湿、泄泻、肠痈、肺痈等，炒用补益肺脾，多用治关节炎、扁平疣；根具有清热、利尿等功效，近用治肝炎、肾炎等症。並含有維生素A.C.D.E與B群，若每天食用60公克，可有效降低膽固醇與血脂肪，可預防高血壓、中風及心血管疾病。薏仁是亦可使皮膚光滑，減少皺紋，有消除色素斑點的功效，還能促進體內血液和水分的新陳代謝，有利尿和利水的作用，長期食用可達到減肥與美白的效果。

Job's Tears (Coix lacryma-jobi), Coixseed, Tear Grass, Hato Mugi, adlay, or adlai, is a tall grain-bearing tropical plant of the family Poaceae (grass family) native to Southeast Asia but elsewhere cultivated in gardens as an annual. It has been naturalized in the southern United States and the New World tropics. In its native environment it is grown in higher areas where rice and corn do not grow well. Job's Tears are also commonly sold as Chinese pearl barley in Asian supermarkets, although C. lacryma-jobi is not closely related to barley (Hordeum vulgare).

There are two main varieties of the species.

Wild type Coix lacryma-jobi var. stenocarpa and var. monilifer has hard shelled pseudocarps which are very hard, pearly white, oval structures used as beads for making rosaries, necklaces, and other objects.

Cultivated type Coix lacryma-jobi var. ma-yuen is harvested as a cereal crop, has soft shell, and is used medicinally in parts of Asia.

Another thing from my childhood when we used to have so few things to play with. I didn't know its formal name yet then and now I often eat this seed. We used to pick up its seed and make bracelets for fun.