Plant ID please?

[AlwaysLatte]

I picked up some dark brown large (long) seed pods from under a big tree about 8 years ago when in Sardinia, or it was possibly Italy - I can't remember which trip. I finally got to germinating them last year and want to know how best to care for the seedlings. Any ideas on what they might be please?

Another pic

well, it looks like something like the laurel fmaily, thick waxy leaves.
Almost like a bay tree

Catalpa (Indian bean tree)??

Thanks Ada it's a lovely tree but the seed pods were different - very dark brown and really thick and gnarly.

Have a look at photos of the catalpa seed pods to see if they are like the ones you found?

@steppemum it does look and feels bit bay-ish, I wish I had taken a picture of the original tree. I think it might have had big scented flowers but not sure.

I must type more quickly!

Big scented flowers and bay ish leaves - camillia family?

there is a seed finder online, with pictures of seed pods etc, but I couldn't open the key link

That's a carob! Ceratonia siliqua. I have two of them. The beans are used as a chocolate substitute. They're shiny dark brown hard things, of a very uniform size, and reportedly are the original of the carat weight.

I keep mine in pots to limit their size. Feed with tomato feed (although they're legumes so can fix nitrogen from the air in the soil). Watch out for red spider mite and scale insect. I keep mine in a cold greenhouse in winter and stand them outside in summer.

I didn't expect anyone to ask about them on here! They're not usually grown in the UK. Thank-you! - I feel happy seeing these pics.

What makes me so certain is the shape and apparent texture of the leaves, the way those leaflets are in pairs, and the provenance - they're very common all over the Med. And the description of the pods -they are indeed very hard.

Carob? I've attached a picture of the mature trees and seed pods...

Haha, @MereDintofPandiculation so pleased someone else is thinking the same! Cross posted (technically... I've been trying to press post on and off for a couple of hours now, I hate when the website is glitchy)!

Oh @MereDintofPandiculation you're a star, that's definitely it! And the pods are identical to the ones I planted. Thanks very much for the advice, that's why I wanted to find out the name. How big has yours got? I'd love to see a pic!
Ooh they get big don't they. We'll keep it in the greenhouse over winter. Exciting! I think the reason I collected the seeds was because I loved the tree so much. It was years ago now and I only planted them last year so I didn't expect them to take.

Yes the pods were really hard, I had to carefully chip away to get the seeds put, then I soaked them before planting.

@Poppins2016 great minds!
Thanks for the pics. Identical seeds and pods and leaves to mine.

Mine’s a bonsai carob . The new growth’s the thing - very pretty!