The bird probably dropped this plant into our yard.
The dried seed head looks rather like an old mop.
When I opened them, I found these.
What do you think? Are they the seeds?
Just to be sure, this is a photograph of the seeds of this plant by Jose Hernandez (hosted by the USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database).
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.
As Craig recognized, our mystery seeds last week were from the white leadtree, Leucaena leucocephala.
Originally from Central and South America, the white tree has been planted throughout the world. It has been used for forage and wood.
Here in Arizona it has been planted as a street tree.
Unfortunately the characteristics that make it attractive – being hardy and fast growing – also make it a potential weed. It is already on the invasive list in many countries.
The leadtree produces many white, round flowers throughout the spring. They turn brown once they have been pollinated.
White leadtrees produce many seed pods, which can look messy hanging on the tree.
Each of those bumps is a seed, stacked up in rows in the pod. One pod may contain up to 20 seeds.
That’s a lot of new potential trees!
Do leadtrees grow where you live?
What do you think of them?
Sometimes the identity of the plant is a mystery to me, too.
Take this legume I found growing behind the local home improvement store.
The tree is covered with these pods.
It took me several visits over several months to finally figure out its identity. 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.
For more information, see Roberta Gibson Writes.
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