The Texas Standard is excited to share the Beachchombing Report from Jace Tunnell, Director of Community Engagement for the Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. The series can also be found on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
The beach looked as though someone had scattered hundreds of tiny brains across the sand.
These unusual sea beans, known as Monkey’s Brain sea beans, immediately caught my attention. Some still had short stems attached, suggesting they had only recently separated from their fruit, while others were covered with encrusting bryozoans and clusters of gooseneck barnacles.
Those hitchhikers told a different story — one of months, or perhaps even years, drifting across the ocean before finally reaching the Texas coast.
Monkey’s Brain sea beans, also called Donovan’s Brain or Brain Fruit, come from the Brain Fruit tree (Piratinera guianensis), a tropical species found from southern Mexico through Central America and into northern South America. The trees often grow along rivers, where ripe fruits eventually fall into the water. As the fruit breaks apart, the seeds are carried downstream to the ocean.
Their remarkably hard, waterproof shell allows them to float for long distances on ocean currents, sometimes traveling hundreds or even thousands of miles before washing ashore.
Curiosity got the best of me, so I brought one home and carefully cut it open with a saw. Inside was a soft, pale kernel that looked surprisingly like a peanut. The tough outer shell does an incredible job protecting the seed during its long journey at sea.
Although the seed itself is far too hard to eat after its ocean voyage, the fruit surrounding it is edible when fresh and is enjoyed locally in parts of its native range. The durable seeds have also been collected for generations and polished into necklaces, keychains, and other keepsakes by beachcombers around the world.
I usually get excited to find just one Monkey’s Brain sea bean during a beach survey, so discovering hundreds of them scattered across the shoreline was an unforgettable beachcombing experience.
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