Your Journey Starts Here

---

The Sea beans journey begins when the seeds fall from their trees and vines that grow along the coastline of tropical and subtropical regions. Then the rains wash those seeds down the rivers and streams finally landing in the ocean. While floating in the ocean the currents guide them to the beaches. Strong winds can push them ashore where they tend to gather in the wrack lines. Many of the beans float for months and some for years. We have found sea beans along the Gulf coast and also along the eastern Florida beaches.

* sea beans pictured Left: gray nickarbean, Right: brown nickarbean, harder to find.

Come to find out sea beans float and beach all year long but there seems to be, what you might call, a peak window for those of us in Texas. It seems to be  the end of March through first part of September.  So the calendar might be helpful. As mentioned before, checking those upper or older wrack lines before checking the middle or the water line could be a good way to start. Looking at the pics you can see they mostly have a matt shine, roundish, and dark brown to light gray. You will develop an eye for finding the beans. 

* sea bean pictured is a sea heart aka sailor's valentine

 We use the same "tools" as we do when shelling. Our sand sifting basket, our mesh bags, hydrating backpacks, sunscreen and bug spray. We usually clean the beans after we return back home. We use the dark green scrubbing dish sponge to really clean away any "barnacle glue". 

 * In the image you can see the beans on the left are in their natural state and the ones on the right have been hand polished using fine grit sandpaper.

* sea beans pictured from top to bottom: sea heart, hamburger bean, crabwood, star palm.

What is a sea bean?  Sea-beans are seeds or fruits that are carried by the ocean from  subtropical rivers and streams originating  usually in the Amazon.  They are also called drift seeds.  For a seed to be considered a sea bean it has to drift into the ocean and then eventually wash ashore.  Sea-beans are hard and buoyant, which helps them float such a long-distance.  Some are as mall as a tiny marble or as large as the palm or your hand. 

*sea bean in picture is a Mary's bean aka Crucifixion bean due to the cross impression.

All sea beans are desirable so to actually rank one more desirable over another depends, in my opinion, on which ones you haven't found yet. For me, I'd love to find a Cathie's Bean. This bean is named after a dedicated "beaner" who has written several books on sea beans. This beautiful bean is red in color and was named in her honor. RIP Cathie.  My bucket list beans are the  Little Marble (Oxyrhynchus ) pictured, Mary's Bean (Merremia ), Yellow Nickarbean (Caesalpinia ), Sea Biscuit (oupartia amazonica ) and of course a Cathie's Bean (Canavalia nitida).