February 16, 2015

Magic Beans

If ever I were to attempt to grow a bean stalk that I could climb into the clouds, the seed would come from one of these giant pods. I found these on my walk in the woods yesterday. Even rimed with ice, they produce a satisfying rattle when shaken. The smaller of the two sounds like it has a single seed inside, the larger pod sounds like it contains more than one seed. Having never before laid eyes on pods like these, I scooped them up and continued my walk accompanied by an arrhythmic percussion section.

After some searching online, I believe these pods are from a Kentucky coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus). While I like to be able to identify them properly, I prefer to think of them as magic beans.

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