Tropical seeds from a Scottish beach!

Today I am spending the day working in Aberdeen University's Zoology Museum adding material to our developing online exhibit MyMuseum.

In our museum there is a cabinet containing a remarkable collection of South American and West Indian seeds that were picked up on the shores of the Outer Hebrides between 1908 and 1919! Most were collected on West Sand at Eoligarry, but with some are from Lewis and the island of Fudag. The collection includes the seeds of 17 tropical species including Heart nuts, Brazil nuts, Virgin Mary nuts, palm seeds, pecan nuts and nutmeg.

The seeds had been transported across the Atlantic by the Gulf Stream, a warm surface ocean current which originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows northeast across the Atlantic, driven by the prevailing southwest winds. The voyage of the seeds would have taken around 15 months.

Drift seeds have been known for centuries and have been used for a variety of purposes including snuff boxes, charms, amulets and talismans.