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strangely nut on the beach...........!

Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 11:10 am
by Jörg Grunert
Hi everybody,

i found some very strange an funny looking nuts just only at on special beach at the northcoast.
I showed these little things some locals but not only one could say what kind of fruit it is. The people said to me that this kind of fruit is not growing up here at tobago, it can just come with the current from another island or maybe from the continent. But i don´t believe this story because the nuts sinking in water. Hm, i would like to know more about these nuts, so i hope to get here an answere.

thanks a lot, (if it is not the right categorie, please move)

Jack (Jörg)

Re: strangely nut on the beach...........!

Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 2:37 pm
by Hugh S
Baby coconuts?

Re: strangely nut on the beach...........!

Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 7:52 pm
by Jörg Grunert
No, babycoconuts have a green exterior shell and no space for 2 fruits. The nuts at the picture have a double-cameral.

Re: strangely nut on the beach...........!

Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 9:40 pm
by GervaisAlkins
When you say NorthCoast do you mean the Windward side or Leeward side?

Alot of driftwood and debris comes to Tobago via currents from South America. Those seeds look very unfamliar though. I'll send your pics to a forestry friend.

Re: strangely nut on the beach...........!

Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 9:24 am
by David Watkins
At first glance the looked rather like sea urchin or sea slug skeletons,what do you think?
David

Re: strangely nut on the beach...........!

Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 3:40 pm
by Jörg Grunert
Hi there,

i searched at other websites and i found a answere to my question.
This nuts should be the fruit of the cohune palm.

At this wonderful website you can compare beans from the shore.

http://www.seabean.com/guide/

Thanks a lot for your help,

Jack (Jörg)

Re: strangely nut on the beach...........!

Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 7:44 pm
by Richardus
This is interesting! But it only solves part of the mystery. How did the cohune palm nuts get there? As you said the nuts sink in water so cannot have drifted ashore. Hmm...

Re: strangely nut on the beach...........!

Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 11:28 pm
by GervaisAlkins
This is fascinating stuff here!!
I checked on images on goggle and i'm sure I've seen palms like that up north.
Maybe the seeds were originally brought here. Case in point there are two mango trees (one in C'ville/one in Loius D'or) that were brought from Africa and planted here in the early 1900's.
I'll look for the Cohune Palm next time I go hiking north.

Re: strangely nut on the beach...........!

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 8:35 am
by David Watkins
I've seen this palm all over the island but mainly in the built up areas as an ornamental.This grows in Cornwall as well and is called the poison cherry as the fruit are very nasty tasting.
I've also seen them in the S of France and Morroco
David

Re: strangely nut on the beach...........!

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 9:52 am
by Jörg Grunert
Hi there,

@ david, in the tropics is a lot of different kind of palm trees from this family. It could be another kind of palm in Marocco, south-europe.

I think the cohune palm, the grower of the Nuts have long stings like a sea-urchin on the tree trunk.

It is possible that the seed come on a hole tree drifting from the continent across the ozean, everybody know, it isn´t far to Venezuela, as well people brought these nuts to cultivate them on Tobago.

thanks a lot,

Jack (Jörg)