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Wisteria Seeds

Wisteria sinensis

Description:

I would like some help in identifying some seeds that my husband and daughter found yesterday. They were found on the ground underneath some Crape Myrtle trees, but they're not Crape Myrtle seeds. And the only other type of tree that was around, was one that had red berries on it. We've tried looking on Google, but we weren't able to find anything. My husband found 1 that looked like it on the outside, but the inside looked totally different. My husband said it smells kinda "nutty" on the inside. And the inside is a yellowish color. I'd appreciate any help on this that I can get. I have added another picture of the seeds, surrounding a U.S. quarter. The quarter is about 1 inch wide.

Habitat:

The seeds were found in the city on the side of a road in Jackson, MS.

Notes:

*UPDATE* I finally found out what these seeds are! Thanks to the help of a couple of people with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, the seeds have pretty much been identified. Here's the message I received from them after I asked for their help in identifying them: "Hi Joy! Thanks for being patient while I tried to get some answers for you! Dr. Lisa Wallace here at MSU has contacted me back about your seeds! Here is what she said: "I'm pretty sure it's something in the legume family - possibly Wisteria. Another possibility might be Kentucky Coffee Tree, which isn't very common in Mississippi, but it might be planted as an ornamental nearby with seeds dispersed by animals. I'm wondering if she or her husband was able to cut open the seed (could you ask them?). If so, it probably isn't Kentucky Coffee Tree because they have extremely hard seed coats." I then told her it seemed like y'all had been able to cut the seed open and sent her the pics I saw you posted on projectnoah.org. She then replied... "If they were able to cut it open easily, then I don't think it's Kentucky Coffee Tree (these seeds are extremely hard, and I've cut my hand trying to get one open before). It's probably more likely to be from Wisteria." I hope this helps you out! If you would like more info from our faculty, just let me know!" Thank you so much to Mississippi State University Extension Service on Facebook, Dr. Lisa Wallace, gatorfellows, PatriciaPi, bayucca, and Augusto Patiño Ramírez for all your help in identifying these seeds! :D Now to figure out what to do with them. lol

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17 Comments

That's interesting, ChiefRedEarth! :) Unfortunately Wisteria seeds couldn't be used for medicinal (or other) purposes though. From what I read somewhere online, the Wisteria seeds are actually poisonous. Which is why they're staying in a little sealed plastic bag until I can decide what to do with them. lol My daughter wanted to make jewelry with them (and so did I), until we found out that they were poisonous. lol Then I was like, "Nope! I don't think we're going to be doing that". lol

Its interesting! We have similar species in India which we use as medicine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entada_rhee...

Thank you, Gilma! :) But I have to give the "spotting" credit to my husband and daughter, since they're the ones who found the seeds. lol Thank you. I had a lot of help in the research. We're glad the mystery got solved, too! :)
If I could afford to, and if it weren't for the likelihood of a bunch of postal service red tape, I'd gladly send you the seeds I have. lol Wisteria is something that really takes a lot of work to keep under control. lol

Nice spotting!! Joy.McPherson.Underwood. Fantastic research you did!! I just love that the mystery got solved.
I love wisteria, wish I could have one here in Costa Rica, have not been able to find it!!

Hey guys! Check out the "Notes" section for the updated I posted. :)

@PatriciaPi that does look quite a bit like the seeds I have. But unfortunately I can't seem to find a picture of the inside of a Wisteria seed online yet. But it really wouldn't be surprising if it is Wisteria seeds, because that plant grows all over the place here in Mississippi. In the wild, and in people's yards. lol I'm not sure what I'll do with the seeds if I find out that it is Wisteria though. That is one plant that takes serious supervision. If you let it get loose for too long, it'll grow like Kudzu vines. lol

gatorfellows
gatorfellows 10 years ago

I know Wisteria flings its seeds and the pods usually stay behind, but they only noticed trees and they seem to be finding them in several places. Maybe next walk they can look for the vine :)

Couratari guianensis
Family: Lecythidoideae.

PatriciaPi
PatriciaPi 10 years ago

It seem like Wisteria sinensis seeds to me....but not sure
https://www.google.es/search?q=semillas+...

gatorfellows
gatorfellows 10 years ago

Am curious about what comes up :)

Thank you for the advice, Gator! :) And oddly enough, my husband and daughter found a few more of these seeds just down the road from our house. But unfortunately again, I wasn't told about any pods or anything nearby. lol *sigh* Oh well, maybe once they're planted, we'll get to find out exactly what kind of plant they're from. lol

gatorfellows
gatorfellows 10 years ago

OK here is what you do ( I teach propagation which includes all about seeds). First, ignore what you know about corn. You have to plant more than one corn so it will pollinate correctly (done by wind) and produce a couple of ears per plant. Nothing to do with germination. Germination is when a seed send down its radical (first root) to take up water. To get germination started you must overcome the seeds dormancy (a seed's method to survive until time to grow)
Mother nature does it all easily, but we have to think about it :)
Rule 1; Plant seeds at the same time mother nature throws them into the world. so plant now. I am assuming you just found them.
Rule 2; This is a dicot seed with a fairly soft outer coating, so it will probably respond to soaking overnight. Good seeds will swell when they take up water. Once a seed takes up water, chemicals can flow and be used for germination.
Rule 3; If you do not know kind of seed, plant it 3 times the thickness of the seed. Do this in pots of seed starter or in a sterile medium like perlite. Leave the pots outside (same as mother nature). Be patient (like mother nature) - may take till warmer spring.
The Outcome: to know what you have, remember the first leaves (one for monocot, two for dicot) out of the ground are the seed leaves. Their purpose to begin making food for the plant to now use to grow. The next leaves are the "true" leaves. These are what the real plant has and will help you identify the plant that made these seeds. So with a little effort you can decide if you want to keep what you have grown. Best of luck :)

We have talked about trying to plant at least some of them, to see what they grow up to be. But, therein lies the challenge. If we don't know what they are, it would be hard to know how to take care of it. Whether it needs certain nutrients in the soil, how much/little to water it, how much sunlight it needs, etc. Plus, there's the germination thing. Is it the type of plant that you have to plant more than one for it to germinate (like corn does)? I'd kinda like to try planting just one, just to see how it goes, and maybe get a better idea of what kind of plant grows from it. What do y'all think about me trying that? Should I or should I not?

I wasn't with my husband and daughter when these were found, so unfortunately I wasn't able to see if there were any pods or anything nearby. But my husband says that there weren't any kinds of pods, shells or anything else near these seeds. He said that the only thing that was nearby were some Crape Myrtle trees, and some kind of tree with tiny red berries. He said the tree with the red berries wasn't a Holly tree, but he wasn't sure what kind of tree it was. All of this is what makes it so challenging to find out exactly what kind of seeds these are. Unfortunately all the information I've given here, is all the information I have.

gatorfellows
gatorfellows 10 years ago

They do have the characteristics of Fabaceae (pea bean family), but you should have also seen the remains of the pod they were in. What shrubs and vines were around the Crepe Myrtles? Seed size is deceiving. a huge Cottonwood tree grows from a very tiny seed with fluff to blow in in the wind.

Thank you, bayucca. I have added another picture of the seeds that gives an idea about the size of them. I placed a U.S. quarter in the middle of them to give an idea of the size of them.
My husband says he thinks they kinda look like the seeds in the 2nd picture on this site: http://waynesword.palomar.edu/legume1.ht...

bayucca
bayucca 10 years ago

Please, give some information about the size. I remember some Fabaceae from Costa Rica which look very similar. Monkey ladder or Entada gigas a huge bean seed pod. But this is not found in your area. But Fabaceae could be a thing to start?

Jackson, Mississippi, USA

Spotted on Feb 13, 2014
Submitted on Feb 14, 2014

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