On 24 Oct, 21:30, Dave Poole wrote:
It is the seed pod of a Magnolia - probably M. x soulangiana or one of
its variants. Quaint aren't they?

Since we're on Magnolia seeds - Just before I retired I spent a lot of
time trying to buy a plant of M. obovata and got nowhere. So my
successor in the 'work garden' bought a packet of seeds from Chiltern
seeds this spring and sowed them. Against all my expectations they
nearly all germinated so we should have some in flower here in the
next decade or two. How are Magnolia seeds generally for germination?