This seedhead was one of many lying under a tree in Portugal last month. A plant app identified it as mimosa, but I can’t find a photo online to confirm that.

Whatever the tree, the seedhead was intriguing. It’s large – maybe 4cm in diameter- and bowl-shaped, and beginning to split open like a clam shell to release the seeds within.

That got me pondering how amazing seeds are, and what a journey they have, often through the body of a bird. Some are like little parasols, carried along by the wind. Some germinate close to the mother tree, others far away. 

One intriguing seed journey is that of the acorn. Oaks often grow alone. We tend to think of squirrels burying acorns, but studies show that up to half of the oak trees in the UK were planted by the jay. ‘Planted’ may not be what the jay had in mind. Burying as a future food source was clearly the intention. But the jay puts more acorns in the earth than its family needs to eat, and so the rest are in effect ‘planted’ and given the chance to grow. And the jays choice of open land or the edge of woodland ensures the seedling has sufficient light. 

Coming back to my seedhead – let me know if you recognise it!