More New Beans

The quest for beans continues.

We have made a couple of trips to the beach since the last post and each time have found a significant number of keeper beans. It seems that we are not only finding an abundance of the typical beans but that we are also finding several first timers.

As we continue to search the wrack line the secrets of the beans are revealed. Here is one of several sea purses that have started to sprout.


This appears to be a hamburger bean that has not only sprouted, but that has a fairly well developed root showing. While these seeds can sprout in Texas, the soil and climate conditions are not conducive to them reaching maturity.

This black beauty is some kind of palm - possibly an immature coconut.

This is one of three varieties of porcupine seed. This is the prickly version.

As luck would have it, I found this smooth variety nearby.

One of the real treasures Tracy found was this hamburger bean. Commonly called a thick banded mucuna, this bad boy in the middle above lives up to his name.

Note the size difference between this one and all the others.


This collection shows a variety of the cool beans available on the beach.

This is the sea heart collection - they come in all sizes and shapes.

We found some nice starnut palm seeds.

Here are the sea purses.


Hamburgers - red on the left and brown on the right.

Not a bad pile of beans for a couple of old beachcombers!

This is another new one found by Tracy. It is a cabbage bark seed.

This shot shows how it got it's name. The lateral ridge makes it similar to the puzzle fruit and the calatola but the texture of the skin is much different.

I finally identified these small watermellon-sized seeds as those from the pond apple.

These tiny yellow seeds are no bigger than uppopped popcorn and are the seeds of the white moonflower which grows locally on Texas beaches.

This is another corky thorn from the kapok tree.

If you have ever had a yearning for beachcombing or for just enjoying a relaxing walk on the beach, now is a great time. The summer crowds are gone and the high tides and rain are unearthing lots of new beans!