These mystery seeds are from a southwestern tree.
The seeds are quite large, perhaps as big as the tip of your finger.
Will the open seed pod will help you decide?
Do you recognize what plant these seeds are from? If you choose to, please leave a comment with your ideas.
New mystery seeds and Seed of the Week answers are posted on Tuesdays.
Edit:Â The answer is now posted.
Our mystery seeds from the orange “berries” last week were from a mountain ash tree, Sorbus sp.
Mountain ashes are small trees that are popular in landscapes.
The orange fruit, which grow in clusters, are eaten by birds. This photograph of the fruit was taken in October.
I thought probably the tree I took the seeds from was the American mountain ash, Sorbus americana, which grows in northeastern North America.
However, these American mountain ash seeds by Steve Hurst @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database have a pronounced hook at the ends. They are also relatively longer and narrower.
The seeds look closer to Sorbus hybrida, which is the oakleaf mountain ash (Photograph by Tracey Slotta @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database). On the other hand, the leaves and geographical distribution are all wrong.
What do you think about Sorbus scopulina, called Greene’s mountain ash (photograph by Steve Hurst @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database)? These are from western North America.
In all likelihood, these landscape trees are a cultivated variety that doesn’t match any of the above. They will remain a bit of a mystery, after all.
It’s May and the saguaro cacti are in full bloom.
Although the flowers are open at night, they remain open long enough in the morning for bees and birds to gather their nectar and pollen.
Both honey bees and carpenter bees are visiting these flowers.
The birds that pollinate the saguaros are white-winged doves. They show up as the cacti begin to flower and stay through the summer fruiting season.
Why didn’t I get any closer photographs?
That might have been a bit difficult, as saguaros can be roughly 50 feet tall when mature. The flowers form at the top.
Have you ever seen a saguaro cactus in bloom?
For more information, see Roberta Gibson Writes.
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