Topic: Mystery bulb/seed/whatever [Solved] - Oak tree seedling

[Patty S]

I feel sorta silly posting this, cuz so many plants look alike at this stage... BUT, does anyone know what this might be?
     
(Sorry, I didn't have any money on me when I took the pic. The seed/bulb or whatever it is, is about twice the size of a nickel.)

I found it when I was pulling a clump of grass out of a garden bed, & am trying to remember what else I had in that area of the bed last year.   I noticed the sprout poking up out of the dirt, but it didn't look much different from any of the other things that are waking up out there.  When a bunch of dirt came up with the grass I pulled out, the bulb/seed of that sprout was exposed... then when I picked it up, a rather long root came with it. 

Weird.  I don't think that Dahlias start this way... & besides, it's way too early for them to be doing anything around here, anyway.  There is a Hibiscus close to where this was, but I've only started those from seed, so I don't know if they make babies of some kind or not.   Any ideas? 
It might be fun to watch it grow... IF I didn't kill it!

[barleychown]

That looks a LOT like an acorn to me. Have squirrels?

[Patty S]

No squirrels around here.

I've spent a lot of time over at LaRelle's house, the past couple of days, & she has a couple huge oak trees in her yard.
Guess what she has growing all over the place?
     

I think you're right, Sarah! (Must be an awfully BIG bird that planted this in my yard, cuz the nearest oak is about a half-mile away!)

LaRelle thought the seedlings were kinda cool; couldn't figure out what they were, but has been watching them, to see what they turn out to be... they're even sprouting in her lawn!   When I told her what they were, she went & started pulling them out!

She said that for the past 3 years, those trees never dropped any acorns, but that last fall they drove her nuts, cuz the roof was being pelted with them for a while & she thought somebody kept throwing rocks at the house!
           

[patches]

Hey, Patty, if you need any acorns I could send you some.  One year, I filled three of those metal trash cans half-full (because of the weight) with acorns.  However, there weren't near as many this past fall, but I think someone said it was because of the late freeze we got last spring.