Dumb question about conkers, and things that aren't conkers but on the tree look like they should be

[Twiglett]

I do this every year when we go out for conkers

there are these trees and I always go 'oh look conker trees' and they have green spiky balls hanging down from them and they look like they should have conkers in them but they're really just puff-balls of green spikiness and the conker trees are further down with their hard brownish less spikey shells

so what the hell are the green spiky things and why do they masquerade as conkers and make me look like a total twat

I should transfer my twonkishness to general chat I suppose

Sweet chestnuts maybe?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Chestnut

don't think so .. but look like that .. only there's nothing inside the spikiness .. I don't think

Are the leaves the same as the horse chestnut trees?

sweet chestnuts are a lot smaller than horsechestnuts. The leaves are the best way to identify a tree, chestnuts are pretty distinctive.

are they lime trees?

(not the citrus, but the thing that's called tilleul in french)

they have a green spiky/fuzzy fruit that's supposed to look like a lime except that it doesn't.

the things i find myself getting drawn into when the baby's asleep.... must go and watch prison break.

They do rather sound like sweet chestnuts - you twonk
I think that sweet chestnuts at this time of year would be barely recognisable inside. Just all white and soft?

Unripe conkers before the conker has formed and gone brown?

Plane?

they're probably sweet chestnuts then .. thanks

I'm going to drag my gardening friend up to the rye and ask her .. but I think I asked her last year too