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I discovered these seeds while clearing out my flower beds. They do not come from anything in my garden. I would like to plant them. But, should know what they are first. I searched for an ap to help me identify them, but hit a dead end. I did the best research I know, but the seeds remain a mystery. Can you help?
(Photo attached; the seeds are dark brown/black, the skin is mottled, wavy [prune-like] and very hard to the touch. The shell is breaking off of the smallest one, revealing a light tan-colored seed inside.)
I live in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans.
Hello Kay,
I think you took some great pictures of your mystery seed, they are clear with a nice scale for reference.
Could you remove more of the dark shell from the one in the middle and take another picture please? If there are seeds inside, they will provide more clues to their identity!
Thank you, Jennifer
Thanks, Jennifer, that’s a good idea! I have been babying them, since there are only 3. But, this is the smallest of them, so I’m willing to sacrifice it, if it should get damaged.
I had to whittle away the exterior shell with a knife. The inner compartment looked like a peanut, but had a slight hollow sound, so I suspected I was still not on the inside. I gave it a gentle tap with a hammer to reveal what I believe is the inner seed. It is hard like a stone! It’s hard to believe there’s life in there!
Looking forward to your analysis!
Kay
Hello Kay,
The layers of the fruit that you described and showed with your well done images looks similar to the fruits of Saw Palmetto, scientific name Serenoa repens, in the palm family (Arecaceae) to me. The black outer layer is the fruit, and the inner seed would be the seed of the plant.
There are many images of the fruit of this species online, and a few of the seeds, you may have to do a bit of searching. Let us know what you find out!
Thank you, Jennifer
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