Somebody has picked some seeds growing on a 'tropical' looking tree in the south of England (Crawley) and given them to me. Does anybody know what they could be? This clump is about 3 cm long.
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A photo of the tree it came from would be very helpful, but if not, a verbal description of its characteristics - the photo here is somewhat out of focus anyway, so a clearer shot would be good.– BambooCommented May 3, 2017 at 12:00
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I've added a photo which hopefully is a little clearer. I will get my sister to take a photo of the tree and add it but not sure when that will be. The only description I have been told is that the tree was about 6 ft high and looked like a palm although they really can't be certain unfortunatly. Meanwhile how should I store them? Or should I just try to plant them straight away? Thank you– RachCommented May 3, 2017 at 12:19
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Yep much clearer but I still can't be sure what it is. If you think its a palm, some instructions here thespruce.com/sprout-palm-trees-from-seed-1902932 but 'palm' covers an awful lot of plants. In overall shape, it reminds me of Rhus typhina pods or possibly magnolia, but neither of those resembles a palm.– BambooCommented May 3, 2017 at 12:31
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I think I've worked it out now but thank you anyway. My sister sent a photo which looked like a Windmill palm. I have a feeling these are not seeds but but the flower of one. Hopefully by August the tree will have fruit which is where the seeds will be– RachCommented May 3, 2017 at 14:53
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Windmill palm is Trachycarpus, and I checked what seedpods look like on that - seed pods form from the flowers, so just check whether there are any seeds in what you've got there - you'll need to remove the exterior of each to see.– BambooCommented May 3, 2017 at 15:53
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These turned out not to be seeds after all but part of the dead flower of a Windmill Palm (Trachycarpus fortunei). Windmill Palms produce panicles of flowers in the spring and if they are pollinated will produce berries around August (with the seeds inside).
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Hi Rach! I'm glad you found out what you have! Thanks for adding it as an answer. It will help others much more than just comments, or if you had just put it as an edit in your question. I didn't notice this until November, so I hope you got some flowers from them during the summer! If they did flower and you have a chance to add a picture of the flower here, that would be great! Commented Nov 11, 2017 at 21:56