During a beachcombing expedition, Jace Tunnell, Director of Community Engagement for the Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christ, recently stumbled upon what he described as “hundreds of tiny brains across the sand.”
They were in fact Monkey’s Brain sea beans, also called Donovan’s Brain or Brain Fruit, which come from the Brain Fruit tree (Piratinera guianensis), a tropical species found from southern Mexico through Central America and into northern South America, according to the Texas Standard.
Their hard, waterproof shells allow them to travel long distances on ocean currents, sometimes hundreds or even thousands of miles before they wash up onto beaches.
Apparently, Tunnell says that despite the seed being too hard to eat after its long journey, when fresh it’s edible and “is enjoyed locally in parts of its native range.”
The seeds have also been known to be “polished into necklaces, keychains, and other keepsakes by beachcombers around the world.”
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