What are these strange seeds that looks like a mini porcupine which you can find all over Germany?

Question

These were in abundance throughout Germany and looks kinda strange.

These are not specific to Germany, you will find them in abundance in the United Kingdom, for example. — Jack Aidley, Jan 25, 2017 at 9:41
I grew up in the U.K. And hadn't seen a Conner until I was an adult. Even then I hadn't seen this spiky bit until relatively recently. They are not ubiquitous. — Rory Alsop, Jan 25, 2017 at 14:18
Indeed I was also surprised to learn that someone could have not seen one. — Rugnir, Jan 25, 2017 at 15:34
I should have stated that i noticed this in my second week of being in Germany. I live in India and never seen anything like this here :) — ishan, Jan 27, 2017 at 9:13

anderas · Accepted Answer · 2017-01-25 07:30:22Z

23

These are not exactly the seeds, but the hull of the seeds of the horse chestnut.

answered Jan 25, 2017 at 7:30

anderas

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3

Horse chestnuts are sometimes colloquially known as conkers.
– Aravona
Jan 25, 2017 at 8:33
1

And, by the way, the German name is basically the literal translation "Rosskastanie". Where a "Ross" is another name for "Pferd" (horse), and "Kastanie" means chestnut.
– anderas
Jan 25, 2017 at 10:34
5

More by the way: you can see the nuts themselves (which are sometimes also called buckeyes in American English) on the ground in your photo. They are poisonous. However, you can also find real/sweet chestnut trees in Germany (Esskastanien/Edelkastanien/Kastanien/Maronen) which have similar looking nuts and also spiky hulls (but those spikes are made of very many needle-like spines which will make your hands itch).
– Max
Jan 25, 2017 at 10:42
1

You don't often find round sweet chestnuts (though they do exist). Most commonly two or three grow in a single (very prickly) hull, and so the nuts have one or two flat sides. In contrast conkers / horse chestnuts are most often round.
– nigel222
Jan 25, 2017 at 11:59
1

@Aravona I've been conked, and have conked a few with chestnuts back in the day here in Canada. A green chestnut on the end of a twig is the closest I've ever come to charging into battle with a mace.
– ShemSeger
Nov 29, 2017 at 0:54

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