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I've been finding these little green (seed/berry) like objects in my garden for three years now.

large variant

This picture shows either a large variant or simply a later lifecycle stage of development.

At their smallest, they look artificial - kind of like nerds candy - almost too green to be natural. In the picture above, it is obvious that the item is a berry, but at the smallest sizes, my first thought was that it was fertilizer. And indeed, I would've continued to think that if not for two things:

  1. We re-mulched our garden two years ago, and didn't fertilize (nor have we ever, but this house is only 3 years old).
  2. When you squeeze even the smallest sized objects, they squirt juice or water.

When the larger berries are crushed, many little seeds come out along with liquid; and it looks almost like a miniature pickled tomato.

There is nothing in my garden that produces any kind of visible berries; and I've never seen one of these attached to a plant. That is part of what makes them so odd (and part of what made me think they were fertilizer); I always find them mixed (sometimes deeply) in soil or mulch.

If no one knows after a couple days, I'll go take a picture of one of the baby ones to help. Any thoughts?

Location: Brighton, MI (USA).

Update:. Here are some other shots. These are both flash shots because it is overcast today. These are also of the younger variant because I couldn't find any of the mature berries today. Hope this helps.

Size Comparison

Another

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    $\begingroup$ Other photos that would help: close-up of where the 'stem' joins the 'fruit' (assuming that's what it is); sectioned (sliced in half with a razor) rather than squished, and maybe an 'in situ' shot of one where you found it in the surroundings of your garden? $\endgroup$
    – Oreotrephes
    Aug 17, 2016 at 21:28

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Barring further details or photos, your fruits remind me of the drupe from a hackberry (Celtis spp.) tree.

http://woodyplants.wdfiles.com/local--files/celtis-occidentalis/Celtis_occidentalis_fruit.JPG

Hackberry drupes are relatively small, often being only about 6-10mm in diameter.

Examples: 1, 2.

Do you have any warty looking trees nearby? (like this).

Do you ever see the fruits in a different color? (purple, black, red, orange)?

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    $\begingroup$ I think you are right. In response to your questions: Different color: maybe purple - though I wouldn't necessarily realized they were the same with other colors. We have a nearby golf course with warty trees, though it's quite a long stones throw away. But my sense is that you are likely spot on $\endgroup$
    – dgo
    Sep 18, 2016 at 1:21

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