help identifying big spikey things?

Question

i live in illinois near st. louis and recently i went to a picnic and near some trees there were some massive spikey balls bigger than the sweet gum balls we usually see. and it has more spikes. when it was opened it has a nut but the covering on the inside is like velvet it was really cool looking and i would really like to know the name of it so i could learn more about them.

Answer 1

Sounds like you probably found an American chestnut, Castanea dentata. Nearly wiped out by a blight. Looked like these?

http://www.acf.org/Tree%20ID%20Files_Sisco/Chburs.html
http://www.acf.org/Tree%20ID%20Files_Sisco/5nuts.html
(American chestnut seeds are rather velvety; the other species are not)

More:
http://www.acf.org/Chestnut_history.htm

PS: Thanks for giving your location -- this *really* helps when trying to make a guesstimation of a plant id from a description!

Answer 2

I agree with chestnut, but almost certainly not American Chestnut. I'd put my money on either Chinese or Spanish Chestnut - both of which are commonly planted as ornamentals, and both of which produce big, honkin' seed-casings around the nut. Those spines can really sting, too, if they should happen to get thrown at you for some reason.

Answer 3

If the bark was a mottled grey, green, brown patchwork, it was a Sycamore tree.

Answer 4

american chestnut .