Magic Beans from the Sea

Drift Seeds in British Folklore

An account of the Islands of Orkney. 1700. James Wallace

Imagine walking along a windswept beach in Cornwall and spotting a smooth, dark brown seed unlike anything growing nearby. Finding such a drift seed – often called a sea bean – feels like discovering a tiny treasure from a far-off land. And in a sense, it is. Drift seeds are the hardy seeds or pods of tropical plants that hitch rides on ocean currents, sometimes floating thousands of miles across the sea before washing up on distant. Carried by the Gulf Stream from rainforests in Central and South America, these exotic seeds occasionally land on beaches in Cornwall, the Hebrides, or even farther. They’re rare finds (some beachcombers search for years without luck), so stumbling upon one can seem almost magical. In fact, for over a millennium, people in the British Isles have viewed these “sea beans” as magical.

What Are Drift Seeds?

Drift seeds (or sea beans) are fruits and seeds adapted for long-distance travel by sea. Most originate in the tropics – think of rainforest trees and vines with hardy seeds that can survive a voyage at sea. When a seed falls from a vine into a river, it may float out to the ocean and get swept into powerful currents. Months or years later, it might land on a beach half a world away. Many drift seeds are legumes (bean family plants) with thick, water-resistant shells. Famous examples include the hefty sea heart (from the Entada gigas vine) and the smaller “hamburger bean” (a seed of Mucuna vines that indeed looks like a tiny brown hamburger). These nomadic seeds are nature’s castaways, able to bob along for hundreds or even thousands of miles across the ocean before reaching land.

When a drift seed finally does wash ashore on a British beach, it stands out among the local shells and seaweed. Historically, most people had no idea where these strange seeds came from – after all, they arrived from plants that don’t grow anywhere in Europe. This mystery gave drift seeds an aura of enchantment and intrigue. Early Europeans sometimes imagined they came from mythical underwater forests or distant isles populated by gods and spirits. Because they seemed to arrive out of nowhere, folklore sprang up to explain and harness their “magical” properties.

Mystery and Mythical Origins

Centuries ago, finding a tropical seed on a cold northern shore must have felt like receiving a gift from the sea. Lacking scientific knowledge of ocean currents, people concocted imaginative origins. Some believed these beans grew under the ocean or were cast into the waves by powerful storms and shipwrecks. Others gave them divine or mystical provenance. One Icelandic saga-poem even describes the Norse goddess Freyja’s legendary necklace, Brísingamen, as a “sea kidney,” implying it was actually a shining drift seed! In reality, the seeds’ kidney-like shape (round with a groove) likely inspired this comparison. But such tales show how embedded in myth these ocean travellers became.

The smallest of commonly found drift-seeds are Lathyrus japonicus (1 above), Calystegia cf. soldanella (2 above) and Ipomoea 'ba (3 above). On the lower line, the seeds are shown life size; the magnified drawings are approx x 3

Over time, different cultures bestowed many names on drift seeds, reflecting various legends. In the Scottish and Irish Western Isles, for example, they were often called “Molucca beans,” thinking they came from the fabled Spice Islands (the Moluccas) in the East Indies. This exotic name added to their mystique. One particular drift seed with a cross-like mark on its face became known as “Mary’s Bean” or the “Virgin Mary’s Nut.” Devout folks imagined it as a blessed token from the Virgin Mary, due to the natural cross imprint on the seed. Merremia discoidesperma (Mary’s bean) bears an unmistakable cross on one side, which easily fueled Christian lore. The seed’s other side has an oval scar that people fancied resembled a womb – fittingly, as we’ll see, since it became linked to childbirth in.

Even the term “sea bean” hints at how these objects straddle categories – not quite local flotsam, not quite typical beans, but something in between. In parts of Scotland, drift seeds were poetically dubbed “Mary’s kidneys” (after the Virgin Mary) or even “elf kidneys,” underscoring their unearthly reputation. By whatever name, these seeds were treasured curiosities. And beyond just collecting them, people began assigning magical powers and folk uses to the sea beans.

Early written records show this folklore developing. In 1602, the historian Richard Carew noted in his Survey of Cornwall that locals found “certain nuts, somewhat resembling a sheep’s kidney… void of any taste, but not so of virtue”, and that old wives claimed they helped women in labour.

By the late 1600s, Scottish writers were also commenting on the phenomenon. In the Western Isles of Scotland, minister Martin Martin wrote of “Molluka beans” drifting ashore and being used as amulets against. These seeds had become embedded in regional lore as lucky charms and protective talismans.

Folklore Uses: Charms and Cures

Across Britain (and neighbouring Ireland), drift seeds became popular folk charms attributed with all sorts of beneficial powers. Often passed down through generations or worn constantly, a single sea bean might be as valued as any lucky coin or religious relic. Here are some of the most well-known traditional uses of these “magic” sea beans:

• Protection and Good Luck: Many people carried or wore drift seeds as amulets to ward off evil. In Scotland and elsewhere, a bean strung on a necklace was said to guard against witchcraft and the dreaded “evil eye”strandlooper.blogspot.com. Women would sometimes wear a bean on a string around the neck, or even mount it in a silver or tin setting, believing it brought them luck in everyday life and kept misfortune at bay. Farmers held that a sea bean charm could make livestock thrive – an important measure of good fortune in rural communities. There was even a saying that any house with a sea bean inside would be safe from fire. In short, these tropical seeds became all-purpose good luck tokens, credited with protecting hearth and home.

• Childbirth Charms: One of the most enduring folk uses of drift seeds was to aid women in childbirth. Since at least the 17th century, “Molucca” or sea beans were given to women in labour as a charm for an easier delivery. The practice was especially common in the Hebrides and Scottish Highlands. Often, the expectant mother would grip a Mary’s bean in her hand during labour, hoping the holy token would ensure a safe birth and a healthy baby. This belief persisted for centuries – even in the late 19th century, a Scottish folklorist recorded that “Mary’s kidneys” (sea hearts) were still used as childbirth amulets in the Highlands. Given the dangers of childbirth in earlier times, it’s poignant that mothers found comfort in these little ocean gifts, imagining divine support in the delivery room.

• Detecting and Absorbing Evil: Folklore also assigned drift seeds a more dramatic protective role: the ability to detect or absorb witchcraft. A vivid tale from the island of Harris in the 1600s illustrates this. A farmer’s cows were bewitched – they began giving blood instead of milk. Desperate, the farmer’s wife was advised to place a white “Virgin Mary’s Nut” (a pale sea bean) into the milk pail. According to the story, the bean turned from white to dark brown as it absorbed the evil influence, and immediately, the cow’s milk ran pure again. The seed had supposedly drawn out the witchcraft like a sponge! This and similar anecdotes led to a belief that if a bean suddenly darkened in colour, it was warning of malign magic in the vicinity. In the Hebrides, some children even wore strings of drift seeds, with parents trusting that the beans would soak up an “evil eye” glare before it could harm the child. A related superstition held that when witchcraft was afoot, lucky beans would turn black to signal danger. Though we might smile at the idea of a colour-changing “magic bean,” such signs were taken seriously in communities where fear of witchcraft was real.

• Other Folk Uses: Beyond the big themes of luck, protection, and fertility, sea beans found their way into various corners of folk practice. In Ireland, for instance, one might place a sea bean under a child’s pillow to ward off fairies, keeping the mischievous “little people” away at night. In old coastal England, sailors kept the large sea-heart beans as lucky talismans – after all, a seed that survived a voyage across the entire ocean symbolised hope that a sailor might survive likewise. These beans were thought to prevent drowning or shipwreck, and one 1912 report from Scarborough Museum describes a Hebridean bean charm specifically kept as protection against. The hard seeds had practical uses too: English parents sometimes gave a polished sea-heart to infants as a teething toy, since the rock-hard seed could be safely gummed by a teething baby without breaking. People found creative ways to repurpose the exotic beans; some were hollowed out and hinged to make snuff boxes or sewing knick-knacks. And in a bit of folk medicine, ground or powdered drift seeds were occasionally tried as remedies (for example, an old Irish belief said that boiling a sea bean and drinking the brew could help the liver – a dubious cure, but one demonstrating the bean’s perceived potency). In essence, any need for luck, protection, or healing might be addressed by these ocean-borne beans in folk tradition.

Antique Victorian Era Masonic Engraved Sea Bean Drift Seed Pendant

As these examples show, drift seeds earned a rich place in British folklore. A single “lucky bean” might be simultaneously a protective charm, a health amulet, and a conversation piece. They bridged the gap between the known and the unknown, tangible objects you could hold, yet with mysterious origins and powers beyond ordinary local plants. It’s little wonder they were prized so highly; one museum account neatly states that “sea beans have been prized for their magical power for centuries”.

Drift fruits and seeds from Britain

From Folklore to Today

Over the last two centuries, science has gradually demystified drift seeds. Oceanographers charted the currents that connect far-flung shores, and botanists traced the beans to specific tropical species. By the 20th century, people understood that a sea bean on a Cornish beach likely fell from a rainforest tree an ocean away, not from a mermaid’s garden. As this knowledge spread, the old superstitions around sea beans began to fade. Fewer people truly believed a bean could ward off witches or ease childbirth.

However, the fascination with drift seeds never disappeared. Beachcombers and nature lovers still cherish these glossy seeds as tokens of wonder. Finding one is often considered a stroke of good fortune even now – a bit of serendipity delivered by the tides. Through the 1900s, “lucky bean” charms were sold in seaside souvenir shops, continuing the tradition in a commercial form. Some contemporary collectors polish sea beans and turn them into jewellery (pendants or keychains), celebrating their beauty without the need for magical attribution. Others simply keep a sea heart or hamburger bean on a shelf as a reminder of how connected our world’s oceans are, and how a simple seed can journey so far. Modern books like Sea Bean: A Beachcomber’s Search for a Magical Charm (2023) even blend memoir with folklore, showing that these seeds still inspire storytelling and personal meaning in the present day.

Today, we might not credit sea beans with literal supernatural powers, but their legacy survives in the stories passed down. Each drift seed on a British strandline carries a bit of history and folklore along with it – the echoes of sailors, farmers, and wise women who cherished it before. In a way, when you pick up a sea bean on the beach, you’re holding a piece of living folklore. It’s a tiny brown ambassador from the tropics, linking a Cornish cove or a Shetland bay to distant jungles and to centuries of human imagination. And if you do ever find one, you’ll likely feel a spark of that old magic – the thrill of a “magic bean” from the sea, resting in the palm of your hand, connecting you to people long ago who saw it as a charm of luck, love, and protection. After all, some truths of folklore persist: it is still considered awfully lucky to find a sea bean on the shore. And who couldn’t use a little extra luck now and then?

Sources: 

• Folklore & historical accounts from Museum of Witchcraft

• Drift seed definitions and natural history from Wikipedia and Coastwatch

• Traditional uses in Cornwall and Scotland from Strandlooper Blog (via Oxford Reference) and Northern Studies

• Modern perspective from Shetland Wool Week .