[4] In Africa, Abrus precatorius is known as Ojuologbo (Yoruba), Oto-berebere (Igbo), Idonzakara (Hausa) and Nneminua (Ib) in southwestern Nigeria[9][10] and obirekuaiura in Ghana.

[11] Abrus precatorius is a severely invasive plant in warm temperate to tropical regions, so much so that it has become effectively pantropical in distribution.

By the end of the twentieth century, it had been proclaimed as an invasive weed in many regions including some in Belize, Caribbean Islands, Hawaii, Polynesia and parts of the mainland United States.

In December 2011 a recall was issued for bracelets made using jequirity beans sold by the Eden Project and other outlets in the UK.

[20] According to the 1898 King's American Dispensatory,[21] Abrus seeds are the agents by which the Chamàr or "Native Skinner" caste of India carry on the felonious poisoning of cattle for the purpose of securing their hides.

This is done by means of small spikes, called sui (needles) or sutari (awls), which are prepared by soaking the awl in a thin paste of the water-soaked, pounded seeds, and then drying the weapon in the sun, after which it is oiled and sharpened upon stone, affixed in a handle, and then used to puncture the skin of the animal.An 1881 work by the District Superintendent of Police for British-occupied Bengal details the preparation and use of the sutari for the killing of cattle and in at least six murder cases.

For testing, which Major Ramsay asked to be done exactly like a surreptitious killing, the prisoner set two sutaries into a 1.5-inch wooden handle meant to be held in the hand by pressing them into a rag stretched over sockets in the wood.

A wandering "Brahmanee bull" was procured, and the prisoner brought the sutari down in one direction and away in the other, so as to break off the cones inside the animal's flesh behind the horn, then pressed the skin over the broken ends leaving no obvious trace of the injury.

The bull died after 34.5 hours, leaving no visible trace of the sutaries but a small amount of pus at the wound site, whose swelling had mostly subsided by the time of death.

The weapons were sometimes made with the milky juice of Calotropis gigantea instead of water, which was said to speed the effect, and were sometimes supplemented with metallic mercury, dhatura, aconite, and/or arsenic.

[23] Abrus precatorius, called "Gulaganji" in Kannada, kundu mani in Tamil, Guruvinda ginja in Telugu and 'Kunni kuru' in Malayalam, has been used in Siddha medicine for centuries.

[25] The Tamil Siddhars knew about the toxic effects in plants and suggested various methods which is called "suththi seythal" or purification.

[citation needed] A variety of pharmacological effects have been observed in rodents, but have not been demonstrated clinically in humans, including: In Rajasthan, India, Chirmi song is associated with this plant.

[34] During the Tang dynasty, Wang Wei wrote a poem titled "One-hearted" (Xiāng Sī / 相思), which most likely refers to Abrus precatorius as a "red bean" (hóng dòu / 红豆).