I moved to the Blackland Prairie area from Zone 3-4 so I’m new and I hope this isn’t a silly question but what are these? Our property has a large open field that the previous owners used to hit golf balls, I’m turning it into a native wildflower patch. I keep finding these hard dried spiky things in clustered patches around areas that are full sun. Are they flower pods of some type? They remind me slightly of a dead headed sunflowers but more pokey and harder. Seeds don’t appear to come out when I shake them upside down. Most of them seem to have a stem pointed down into the soil and whenever it rains I find more have “washed up” for lack of a better term. Some don’t seem to have any stem/roots. I’m not sure if they even grew here originally, sometimes they are stem up like they were dumped here and I can’t really tell if they ended up in that position because of something like the rain. They are very painful if you accidentally step on them barefoot 🫣 Should I be removing these or are they something good?
by GemMireAlias
3 Comments
Looks like Platanus occidentalis seeds that have dried up. Clay soil expanding and contracting will often make it look like they are in the ground similar to a plant.
> previous owners used to hit golf balls, I’m turning it into a native wildflower patch.
Bless you. More of this, please.
I think I had something like this. Oenothera flava – Evening primrose has similar seeds.