Where Do the Wrinkled Beads on Buddhist Prayer Beads Come From?

In some cases, they come from a tree called the Blue Quandong. This tree is an evergreen that grows from South East Asia to the

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South of Queensland and New South Wales. I got this info from a book called Around the World in 80 Trees by Jonathan Drori. An interesting read.

1. The tree grows white bell-shaped flowers that hang downward and look like tiny grass skirts

2. The fruit is spherical and the size of a large marble. It is a vivid cobalt blue.



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3. Most blue fruit contains colored chemicals called anthocyanins.

4. This fruit’s color isn’t a pigment. It comes from light reflecting off of its surface.

Like the scales of butterflies that look iridescent or like peacock feathers, the surface structure reflects blue light.

5. They say that the blue fruit is best when over-ripe.

Eat it too soon and it is too astringent.

6. The fruit is eaten by cassowaries, pigeons and flying foxes.

7. The animals eat the fruit and deposit the wrinkled looking stone without harming the seeds inside.

8. The stones look as if they have been carved.

9. Each stone contains 3-4 seeds

10. These wrinkled stones are used by Buddhists to create prayer beads or necklaces.