Can someone give me an idea what plant produced this seed pod? It looks like a cone to me, but rattles as though there is one large heavy seed inside. (I hate to break it open to find out). I wonder if it might be a tropical plant like a cycad? In the photograph provided, the stem end of the pod is to the right. The scales are tight and the pod is glossy, but might be varnished. I think it was from a dried plant display. Thanks for your help in identifying this pod. It certainly has been a mystery to me.
I believe it's the fruit of a palm of the Calamoid subfamily, all members of which feature these overlapping scales. There are meny hundreds of species in this group, mostly from tropical Asia, and I doubt you could easily identify it to species or even genus. The most significant Calamoid palm genera are Calamus, Daemonorops, Korthalsia, Salacca, Metroxylon, Raphia, Mauritia, Lepidocaryum but googling won't get you many pics of the fruit. Some of them have rather larger fruit than the one in your pic.
Hi Tony, I think you hit on it. Last night, after posting, I was wondering about rattan, and your suggestion confirmed that family might be right. This morning I found this photo, http://www.gibbonproject.org/content/Gibbons/gibbon_diets/F019-Rattan.jpg , but think I might have guessed the wrong end for fruit attachment. To me (in this photograph) it looks like the scales are lapping opposite of what I thought for the fruit attachment end. Ginny
