Ormosia coccinea is a plant that grows throughout the South Eastern North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

n countries, and all throughout South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. It produces beautiful red seeds with one black spot covering one-third of its surface. These seeds are used for jewelry and other decorative purposes. The seeds are poisonous if eaten.

The seeds are known as huayruro in Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, where villagers believe them to be powerful good luck charms, and Nene (seed) or Chumico in Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

. A French name is panacoco, but this more often applies to Swartzia tomentosa

Swartzia tomentosa

Swartzia tomentosa, known as Panococo, is a tree of the bean family, growing in Guyana, South America. Its wood is hard and durable. According to "The Treasury of Botany" published by Longmans, Green, and Co...

.

External links

• Various species
• Huayruro