I don't know. Here is a guess.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bradford pear

Well, that kinda looks like it but the one I cut open was solid and I didn't find any seeds in the middle of it. And the blossom end doesn't have anything but just a sunken in spot. I've been around Bradford Pears and have seen their fruit often but what I've seen has been smaller and more elongated. However, all those pictures don't lie, do they? Hmmmm. This fruit is round and about 7/8" across, and that's the size they look to be in the pictures on the link you sent.

I just sacrificed the last one I had by trying to cut it in half and it's very, very hard. I was finally able to cut through it but it left the smallest half on my desk and the bigger half went flying back behind it. I'm not in any shape to be hunting for it and I guess now that I don't have any more it probably doesn't matter anyhow. Heh.

Helen, you are very good at this. I'm probably done finding mystery plants for a little while. It was fun and I learned some things and so Helen, and the other folks who responded on some of the other queries, I do thank you very much for sharing your expertise. Hugs, Ilene

When I have a weed I want to identify I go to the nature net forums on here. You could try this picture there and see what they think.

Here is a link that might be useful: nature net forum for plant ID

I have no idea. Try the other forums like Helen suggested. Now you have me wanting to know.

Hubs and I were talking about this and I wondered if maybe the birds ate the fruit off the trees before they got "to the round stage" on all the Bradford Pear trees we've seen in the past. He said maybe there's more than one variety of Bradford Pear.

We found the other half of that fruit and I dug around in the center trying to find seeds, but it has dried so much that it's impossible to tell. I should've found the tree it came off of so I could see what the leaves looked like. In the future, I'll do that, seems I'm always finding something interesting with no idea what it is. I've never been accused of not having an inquiring mind. Heh! Hugs, Ilene

Not a berry at all but an oak gall produced by an wasp which stung the leaf and laid its eggs. It's an insect egg case. Third one down in tis link.

Sandy

Here is a link that might be useful: Oak gall

Looks kind of like it on the outside, but can't be that. I've cut into the one I saved, just a day or two ago, and it's incredibly hard and solid inside. The pictures of oak galls on the link look like the shell is very thin and easily broken and there's soft, fibrous stuff inside. Seems like I've seen those oak galls before and wondered what they were, and it's nice to know this piece of information. Just doesn't happen to fit in this particular case. Thanks much for this! --Ilene

They are solid inside, until they hatch out. They fall off the leaves of the oaks. I see them on the ground under the oaks everywhere this time of the year.

Sandy

OK, but here are the dis-similarities of this "whatever it is" to oak galls. Or at least this is how I see it and I'm not a botanist or an entomologist (obviously).

These were found on the ground three months ago, not recently.

The one I cut into the day following picking them up, in late July, is pictured. At that time, it was hard inside but not woody, I was able to cut it in half with my good Cutco knife, and except for the fact that I didn't at the time see any seeds, although it did cut off-center and I didn't dig around into it looking for them. it did kind of remind me of the texture of hard, unripe fruit.

That left me with one which I saved till now. I had considerable trouble cutting into on October 27. It was hard like a rock, through and through. When I poked around into the pith after finally getting it cut, it was very solid and woody.

If oak galls are just being seen on the ground now, would I be finding them on the ground in July?

After my having kept one in the house for three months, if it had wasp eggs in it, wouldn't they have hatched by now? ....Or something? And yipe, that serves to teach me a lesson, I wouldn't have been very happy had something hatched out of it while it was inside the house. With me.

They do look a lot alike in some of the pictures but not inside. I sure appreciate your opinion but I just don't think this particular one is an oak gall.

I have seen something like this that has softer insides, sort of like hard-packed cotton, and I always wondered what it was. So you have answered a question I hadn't yet thought to ask. That's pretty intuitive! And I get two answers from one question. Thanks bunches!

Oooooo -- if the thing with "hard-packed cotton" is light green and teardrop shaped, get rid of it. I fought this vine for several years (until I moved) and it's a terrible menace. RUN! Get the poison ivy spray or something that strong and get rid of it.

Actually, the inside of the pod (which contained trillions of seeds) reminded me of the pods in the movie, "Invasion Of the Body Snatchers" which haunted me for years.
Sunny

Sunny are you speaking of climbing milkweed?

Here is a link that might be useful: climbing milkweed

They are Cynipidaee Amphibolips quercus juglans, the acorn plum gall, and they take from 3-5 years to hatch out. The brown empty ones you find on the ground are the ones that have hatched and gone. If you had been able to cut into the center of one, you would have found the wasp grubs.

Sandy

Here is a link that might be useful: Acorn plum gall

Helen, you nailed it. The description and picture -- it really was that. "Problematic" on fences -- well, that's being kind. It was mixed in with Hall's honeysuckle and that was fun. Not.
Thank you -

Sandy, interesting about acorn plum gall.
Sunny

There are all sorts of interesting things out there if you look. My friend used to say I'm easily entertained.

Oak gall

I'm glad you said that Joe. I was thinking it but was too unsure to mention it. I've seen other "what fruit is this" questions when it turned out to be galls.

This blog has some good photos.

Here is a link that might be useful: Marbles Under the Red Oak Tree

Well, OK, that blogpost you provided, Christy, has pictures that match what I have. Apparently those that I have seen that are hollow are the result of a different wasp biting a different tree.

That must be some kind of evil worm if it can chew it's way out of that woody marble.

My apologies to Sandy for being so stubborn. And thanks to Sandy for hanging in there and for everyone else's input, too.

Obviously, I'm easily entertained by nature as well, Helen. LOL --Ilene

By the way, that blog that Christy provided the link to is an interesting one indeed in lots of other areas, if you back up so the end of the URL is "/nature". Scrolling down a little ways is a great piece on the praying mantis. I saw one here this summer, the first I've seen in several years.

Here is a link that might be useful: More on Blogsmonroe

That gall is what you can make ink from. Google it, a great homeschooling test.

Cheri