Seed? Question

[Anja Wenrick]

Does anyone know what this seed or pod belongs to? I was clearing teasel today and my friend and I both found these seed/pods in the dirt in a couple of places where we dug up the teasel roots. 

Thanks for the help !

Anja

[Joel Geier]

Kind of looks like Datura (jimsonweed). Highly toxic (rumored to be hallucinogenic in small doses), but with very spectacular white flowers.

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From: "Anja Wenrick" <aecwe...@gmail.com>
To: "Mid-Valley Nature" <mid-vall...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2026 7:06:50 PM
Subject: [MidValleyNature:8045] Seed? Question

Does anyone know what this seed or pod belongs to? I was clearing teasel today and my friend and I both found these seed/pods in the dirt in a couple of places where we dug up the teasel roots. 

Thanks for the help !

Anja

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[Tanya Lasswell]

Could also be a legume - it's a little hard to tell what the top of the seed looks like, and the scale of the photo. Maybe vetch? If there's a pic of a pod, that's even more useful for ID purposes!

Best,

Tanya

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[Anja Wenrick]

Thank you, all!  

Indeed something for size reference would have been helpful. Sorry I didn’t think of that. Also there was no pod accompanying the seeds. However there were many marsh organa plants in the area. So thinking it is from the wild cucumber plant. 

I have attached new photos for size reference. 

[Anja Wenrick]

Sorry- marah oregana (I did not edit after auto correct….. grrrrrrr..) 

[Tanya Lasswell]

Wow, those are enormous! Yes, that is not a legume-top - it's likely Marah. Fun find!

Tanya

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[Carma Sue Henry]

Marah oregana is a native member of the cucumber family (though not in the same genus as as our culinary cucumber) called 'Indian cucumber' or 'Indian manroot'.  They over-winter on an underground root system and send up fleshy, deciduous vines every spring.  By this time of year the vegetative parts are already beginning to wilt.  All parts of the plant are toxic to humans but Indigenous people had some medicinal uses, mostly for the tubers.  I've never seen the deer or rabbits munching on them, although they're in the trees they both use for shade shelters.  They don't seem to get any rodent damage either, but I once found a seed wedged into a vole hole entrance - it may have just rolled into it.  It does seem that some type of insect eats into the soft, viny stems and can cause the upper reaches to die off.

In our yard they're climbing up into some pines and a spruce and can get up to height of 10 feet or so.  The first of these photos was taken on Mar 3 2026 and shows how early they sprouted this year.  The next two were taken May 7, 2024 when in full flower with some seed pods beginning to develop.  The last, with maturing seeds, were from June 25, 2024.  Sorry I don't have a better image of the flower.  It's monoecious with a white, five petalled united corolla that forms a short tube around either stamens or stigmas.

I've never seen the deer or rabbits eat them; although they're in the trees they both use for shade shelters.  It does seem that some insect eats into the vining stems and can cause the upper reaches to die off.   Despite their imposing appearance the spines on the gourd actually stay fairly soft  and, as they dry, the flesh withers and leaves behind a skeletal web similar to it's relative, the loofa.