seed ident required

[Bushman5]

found a ton of these today in West vancouver BC canada.

they are about 6mm long in the husk, and about 5mm when hulled. The seeds smell sweet like almond extract and have a almond type meat/texture. No i didn;t sample.

 

[mete]

Peach or apricot ? Maybe you're too far north for that.

 

[OldPhysics]

Definitely do not sample.

Never -- until you're absolutely, positively sure you know what they are.

Too many plants pick up a little "extra" heavy metal ... or develop a lovely biotoxin.

 

[Bushman5]

ZERO fruit trees in the area, only arbutus, pine, and 8' thick douglas firs, spruce, etc etc

 

[u812]

For sure not a peach seed.
Maybe some type pine nut?

 

[dawsonbob]

I really don't know, but in your bottom shot it looks kind of like a Hazelnut. I don't know if they even grow up there, though.

 

[Bushman5]

i'll take a pic next to a penny for size comparision

stand by

 

[dboles]

In the city proper or woods oriented? Im thinking that they are hazel nuts.Was there a pair of them in a Fuzzy pod?

 

[Bushman5]

well into the woods. single seeds scattered thruout the forest floor. No pods.

 

[Bushman5]

here is a size comparison next to a penny

 

[dawsonbob]

Okay, Bushy, now that you've shown it next to a penny I can say unequivocally, and without doubt, that I haven't a clue. Sorry. I'll see if I can find anything like that.

 

[Bushman5]

- shown next to a penny, for size
- about 6mm in the hull
- about 5mm LONG hulled
- about 3-4 mm WIDE hulled
- has meat like almond
- smells like almond extract when crushed
- found it in West Coast BC Canada.
- NO fruit or nut trees nearby, just coastal rainforest
- outside of city limits
- scattered all over ground
- douglas firs, arbutus, pine, spruce, cedar, etc nearby.

 

[dawsonbob]

- shown next to a penny, for size
- about 6mm in the hull
- about 5mm LONG hulled
- about 3-4 mm WIDE hulled
- has meat like almond
- smells like almond extract when crushed
- found it in West Coast BC Canada.
- NO fruit or nut trees nearby, just coastal rainforest
- outside of city limits
- scattered all over ground
- douglas firs, arbutus, pine, spruce, cedar, etc nearby.

I took a quick look online and quickly realized that I was in over my head. Couldn't find anything even close, other than Hazelnuts, which apparently grow all over North America (but I don't think that's what that is).

Where's Doc when ya need him?

 

[jca21]

ok.....

heres my go at it. given what you've described i'm going to take a wild guess at this. given the circumstances in which you came across them and the fact they seem totally out of place regarding where you found them, i'm going to guess that those are marijuana seeds.

Here's an image of the seeds that havent been processed:

Here's an image of the seeds sprouting:

if they are what i think they are and you can get it verified (the botany department at ubc would be able to tell you what it is through genetic analysis fairly quickly), than i would be very careful as to going around where those seeds were found....


just what i think, i've searched through my field guides and other resources and cant find anything that remotely looks like that kinda seed produced from local plants and trees.

 

[DOC-CANADA]

I took a quick look online and quickly realized that I was in over my head. Couldn't find anything even close, other than Hazelnuts, which apparently grow all over North America (but I don't think that's what that is).

Where's Doc when ya need him?

Wrong side of the country for me, dawsonbob - maybe pitdog.

B5, if it smells like almonds, definitely do not try it.

Doc

 

[dawsonbob]

Wrong side of the country for me, dawsonbob - maybe pitdog.

B5, if it smells like almonds, definitely do not try it.

Doc

Ooops! I knew that, I just forgot. Are you thinking that if it smells like almonds it could contain cyanide?

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Ooops! I knew that, I just forgot. Are you thinking that if it smells like almonds it could contain cyanide?

Yes, a quote:
"Cyanogenetic glycosides are nontoxic until the molecule is broken down. Amygdalin is the cyanide-producing glycoside of wild cherries, peaches, almonds, and other members of the rose family. When a plant containing this substance is injured or taken into the digestive system, amygdalin is broken apart into three substances. One is the sugar component; another is cyanide, highly toxic; and the third breakdown product is benzaldehyde.

Cyanide is frequently employed as the lethal substance in murder mysteries, and often the odor of bitter almonds is given as a clue to its presence in the victim. But cyanide itself has no odor; the odor of bitter almonds is that of benzaldehyde. To be correct the source of cyanide in such cases must be from breakdown of amygdalin obtained from one of the plant sources where it occurs. Benzaldehyde itself is not poisonous, but because it occurs in quantitative relationship to cyanide in the amygdalin molecule, the intensity of odor from benzaldehyde is in direct proportion to amygdalin breakdown and hence to release of cyanide." (reference source: Deadly Harvest, John M. Kingsbury, Holt Paperback, Holt Rinehart & Winston, 1972, ISBN# 0-03-091479-5, page 88)

It goes on from there, but that kind of sums it up.

Doc

 

[paleojoe]

It does have a hazel look to it, the most northern hazel is the

Beaked Hazel (corylus cornuta) and it is in B.C.

It may be this type...

We have C. cornuta here as well... It looks similar to me...

 

[jca21]

damn, and here i thought that you'd stumbled upon a future grow op ...

my bad :foot:

 

[DOC-CANADA]

There's one problem with Beaked Hazelnut:

- shown next to a penny, for size
- about 6mm in the hull
- about 5mm LONG hulled
- about 3-4 mm WIDE hulled
- has meat like almond
- smells like almond extract when crushed
- found it in West Coast BC Canada.
- NO fruit or nut trees nearby, just coastal rainforest
- outside of city limits
- scattered all over ground
- douglas firs, arbutus, pine, spruce, cedar, etc nearby.

Doc