hello,
Bump..
10 mile hike today & Bushcraft lesson in the sweltering heat +25C. One of our group brought along a bag of "elaeocarpus angustifolius" stones, the fruit derive from the blue olive berry tree aka the bead tree. The name Elaeocarpus derived from Greek words elaeo (olive) & carpus (fruit) referring to the olive-like dark blue fruit. The fruit ripens by summer & contains a hard rough 4-seeded hard stone. It's pitted seed coats I was informed, have been used for Chinese checkers & has a religious significance in Asian countries. A few were pre-drilled & used as beads for the draw string of a couple of leather tinder pouches & the finish to some hand made cotton tinder bags, some of which were screen printed with a outer Bushcraft design by a friend in the craftshop. A few stones have been retained & might be useful for thumb grips for ferro rods. I've got photos of the seeds I'll upload them if I have time.
Regards
David