Botanic Garden >> Gardening > >> Question and Answer >> Identifying Unknown Plants

Seed Pod ID: Durian vs. Screw Palm (Pandanus)

A heavy, spiky pod found near a road in Sarasota, FL was initially thought to be durian (spines sanded for shipping).

Correction: Screw Palm (Pandanus)

The questioner's friend correctly identified it as a **screw palm (pandanus) seed pod**. The expert acknowledged the mistake and thanked the correction.

Lesson

Even experts learn daily. Tropical flora is vast; local knowledge often wins.

Identifying Unknown Plants: Cypress Seed Collection and Germination: Timing Is Everything; Iris Seed Germination: Cold Stratification and Outdoor Transplanting; Identifying a Tree with Large Brown/Purple Seed Pods in Central Florida; Can You Plant a Green Oriental Poppy Seed Pod?; Mystery Seed Identification: Large Bean-Like Seed Found in Parking Lot; Harvesting and Growing Stephanotis from Seed Pods; Queen Palm Seed Pods: Annual, Messy, Cut Early; Identifying a Tropical Plant with Dark Green/Purple Leaves; Mystery Cone-Shaped Objects in a Northern California Garden; Gardenia Seed Pods: Ornamental and Propagatable

Garden Articles

Tiger Lily Propagation: Bulbils vs. Seeds and Cold Treatment

Harvesting and Germinating Magnolia Seeds from Seed Pods

Identifying Osage-Orange: The "Monkey Brain" Fruit Tree

Calla Lily Seed Pods: Harvest Brown, Sow Fresh for New Plants

Spiky Seed Pod in Kentucky: Chinese Chestnut

Beggartick (Bidens bipinnata): The Hitchhiking Weed from Hell

Christmas Cactus Seed Pods: How to Harvest and Grow New Plants

Plants

Copper Beech Early Seed Production: Age vs. Climate Triggers

Mystery Tree with Green Slimy Pods and "Fingers" in Illinois

Growing Money Tree (Pachira aquatica) from Seed

Yucca Seed Pods and Yucca Moths: A Symbiotic Relationship

Growing Dendrobiums from Seed: Sterile Culture Basics and Supplies

Saving Seeds from Annual Climbing Vines: Hyacinth Bean Example

Tomatoes Rotting at Seed Cavity: Fungal Issue