Any ideas?I was digging under the beech tree and found quite a few of these

I guess you'll find out soon

Don't think winter aconites, their roots are brown...

they aren't attached to anything else Bathgate. the white roots are coming from the structures.
I have potted some up to see what they develop into.

Not baby snowdrops? I accidentally dug some up and they looked quite like those.

As they are under a beech tree, they could possibly be immature beech nut seedlings waiting to sprout in the spring?

Bluebells?

beechnuts are bigger than these and a different shape, they produce 2 huge cotyledons. I know what they look like as they sprout many every year :o)No bluebells under this part of the garden and snowdrops are some distance away so still no real idea.

My neighbour suggested lesser celandine but I have that by the bucket load and they don't look like these either.
thanks for the suggestions I will just have to wait and see.

Just as an afterthought, SBG, they couldn't be peanuts that have been buried by the squirrels?

I sort of thought of that too but at the time I dismissed it as an idea. all to uniform in size and shape but they could be ;o)

I know they aren't peanuts. How would a squirrel get roasted peanuts? They would not grow anyway. They very closely resemble snow drop bulbs. Did you have snow drops blooming in this location last spring? They look like spring flower bulbs of some kind. Crocus?

Bathgate, the peanuts (ground nuts) which we put out for the birds in the UK which are stolen by squirrels are raw peanuts. If they were infact roasted the squirrels would have to roast their own!

My birds and squirrels are spoiled, they only eat roasted peanuts and frankly...so do I. I mean regular peanuts like Jimmy Carter.

I'm not sure roasted peanuts are good for birds Bathgate... far better to feed them raw. Roasting alters the composition of the 'nut' and in nature everything they eat is raw - or insect life!

Thanks Mg. It's usually mixed in with sunflower & niger seeds. I know blue jays and woodpeckers really go for them. The smaller birds will even eat peanut butter.

Even raw peanuts wouldn't sprout this time of year, anyway. They need some heat to germinate.

Bathgate I hope you aren't using peanut butter with salt in it, this is toxic to birds. In the UK there is Flutter Butter that contains no salt not sure about the US, personally I think wild birds are better off without and peanut butter!

A number of organic, salt-free peanut butters available here, mostly to be found in specialty organic stores, or in the "naturals" section of the supermarket. Note that the peanut butters that don't require refrigeration, and don't separate on the shelf, have been altered with hydrogenated vegetable oil.

And therefore should also not be used for birds... I can just about understand a professional bird photographer using Flutter Butter to get that perfect shot of a Crested Tit apparently feeding on insects on a branch, though I think it is cheating, but why would anyone else do?

as I said earlier there aren't any snow drops in this area. from last years photos there are winter aconites, corydalis solida foliage no flowers, 3ft away hellebores and the odd lesser celandine. Many cyclamens but they don't look like this either.
peanuts here are the raw groundnuts untreated and when they germinate in mid spring I know what they look like.

I will let you know what they become :o)

Let us know when you discover SBG

mystery solved they are winter aconites and some are going to flower.
I've only ever seen them as brown 'dried out' corms in packs at the garden centres.
yippee. glad I didn't throw them out now :o)

Good to know, Sbg! They won't grow where I am: not enough winter here. "Bulbs" sure look different straight from the ground, opposed to half desiccated in the garden center.

That's great Sbg...

I wouldn't have thought aconites, I live and learn :-)))))

well I was as surprised as you Bulba as they are obviously old enough to flower.

swapped photo for what they are like today.

We also have in flower along with snowdrops, crocus, iris and various other bits and pieces... winter has been too mild up to now!

wow, I'm still in the dead of winter. I won't see anything until March.

Continental climate vis maritime climate Bathgate

I'll just have to get more hot chocolate. It's not my fault!

lol Bathgate!