. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. TOP: Hamburger sea beans and pod BOTTOM: Hamburger sea beans Carolina shores. The book, World Guide to Tropical Drift Seeds and Fruits, says 22 varieties have been counted in the Carolinas. But because most sea beans are brown and small and wash in with seaweed and other flotsam, they are easily overlooked. And many people, like White, publicity coordinator for the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores, don't know what they've found when they encounter their first sea bean. A sea heart she discovere
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. TOP: Hamburger sea beans and pod BOTTOM: Hamburger sea beans Carolina shores. The book, World Guide to Tropical Drift Seeds and Fruits, says 22 varieties have been counted in the Carolinas. But because most sea beans are brown and small and wash in with seaweed and other flotsam, they are easily overlooked. And many people, like White, publicity coordinator for the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores, don't know what they've found when they encounter their first sea bean. A sea heart she discovered at Cape Lookout about 10 years ago piqued her curiosity. She was fascinated when she learned what it was. "The mystery is what's intriguing," she says. 'And how far they ; A WORLD VIEW Sea beans come our way from the Carib- bean, South America, Central America and the southernmost Florida Keys thanks largely to the Gulf Stream, the north-flowing river within the Atlantic off the East Coast. The beans turn up as far north as Cape Cod, though they become increasingly rare north of Cape Hatteras. Southeastern Florida beaches, on the other hand, are a collector's paradise, given the proximity to the TOP: Mary's sea beans BOTTOM: Mary's sea beans Some sea beans are trans-Atlantic voyagers, reaching the United Kingdom, Norway, Greenland and Iceland. In the days before ocean currents were understood, sea beans gave rise to much lore and legend, as well as practical or medicinal uses. The sea heart is said to have a hand in world history, inspiring Columbus to search for the lands to the west whence they came. The sea heart is still called the Columbus Bean in the Azores, some 800 miles off the coast of Portugal. The Irish put sea beans under pillows to keep the mischievous "little people" away. On Scotland's Hebrides islands, sea pearls, also called nickernuts, were worn to ward off evil. Mary's bean held special meaning for the devout, and
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionunclibra, booksubjectoceanography
