The common name Job's tears refers to the droplet-shaped, pearly white "beads," and to the biblical man of the Old Testament who endured great suffering. This relationship to tear drops is also reflected in the specific epithet lacryma-jobi, in reference to the tear-producing lacrimal glands located near the eyes.  Depending on exactly where you happen to be in the world, this plant goes by various names including David's tears, Saint Mary's tears, Christ's tears (Lacryma Christi), and just plain tear drops. The dried, gray beads are strung into necklaces throughout tropical regions of the world.

Interestingly enough, the actual beadlike structure resembling a seed is not a seed at all. It is a very hard, hollow structure (called an involucre) containing a minute fertile female flower and two sterile flowers. Pollen-bearing male flowers are produced on a slender stalk that extends out of the bead through a tiny pore. Two feathery stigmas from the fertile female flower also protrude from the pore--ready to receive pollen from the male flowers. Like other members of the enormous Grass Family (Poaceae), Job's tears are pollinated by the wind. Following pollination, a seed-bearing grain is produced by the fertile female flower. The shiny gray beads are dispersed and planted like seeds, but they are actually remarkable little shells containing flowers and grains.  Close-up view of flowering Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi) showing the hollow, beadlike involucres which naturally have a hole in them. The threadlike styles of a female flower and a cluster of male flowers protrude from a tiny opening in each bead. Inside the bead is a minute, seed-bearing female flower (bottom).

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/plapr99.htm