A man found a rare bean, normally found on the opposite side of the world, on a south Wales beach.
Darren Hodge, from Pontarddulais , was visiting Llangennith beach in Gower with his children when he made the discovery.
The 44-year-old said: "I was down in Llangennith with my two kids on our way to the Blue Pool.
"I'm a bit of a beachcomber so was looking down at what I could find and spotted it.
"I noticed the unusual shape of it and thought it was a bit weird so I took it home to find out more.
"I had no idea what it was so I googled 'heart shaped bean' and apparently it's really rare. There are less than five found a year."
The 'sea bean' that Mr Hodge found is a dark brown colour and of a similar size to a golf ball.
He added: "My kids are thrilled. Apparently they are romantic so I gave it to my wife."
The Blue Flag beaches in Wales for 2019
The Marine Conservation Society confirmed the discovery as an entada gigas, which is more commonly known as a sea bean or sea heart.
It is native to central America, the Caribbean, northern South America and Africa and is a species of flowering liana in the pea family.
When the rain washes them into rivers and the ocean, the seeds can drift long distances on ocean currents.
A spokeswoman at the Marine Conservation Society explained that the reason the sea bean has washed up in Wales "can largely be put down to ocean currents and the bean's buoyancy".
