—Job’s tears (Coix lacryma-jobi)—annual grass

—Size: 24-48” tall by 12-24” wide

—Site: full sun to part-shade

—To Propagate: Seed requires no pretreatment but soaking the hard seeds for 2 hours in warm water may aid in germination though we have found this pretreatment to be unnecessary.

Plants loosely resemble miniature corn in appearance. The bead-like seeds of Job’s tears vary from white to gray to black and are used in bracelet- and necklace-making. The cultivated variety—not the one offered here though it too can be eaten when prepared—is ground into and used as a baking flour.

In areas of light frost, where winter temperatures only fall below freezing for no more than a few hours and freezes are shallow (zones 8-11) such as its native Asia, Job’s tears is a short-lived perennial grass. In all other climates it is grown as an annual. This plant happily reseeds though never to extent of being a nuisance.

Job’s tears forms a nice clump and is an attractive grass especially when in flower and seed.

The seeds we offer are ready for planting. We are often asked if this is the Job's tears that is edible...well, yes, this species of grass produces edible seeds. However, like with many grains, it has a hard shell covering the edible grain inside making it difficult to prepare for eating. But there is a soft-shelled variety—var. ma-yuenv—that is grown in Asia for consumption...this is the variety of Job's tears that you are looking for. Unfortunately, we do not offer this variety at this time. We hope to offer it at some time in the future because the Job's tears is sweet, nutty, and earthy, with a chewy texture making it a delicious grain.

Note: If you order more than one lot of one species of seeds, for example you place two orders of 100 seeds, or whatever variation is offered, we assume you want 200 seeds and your order will be sent in one seed packet.