Anyone Know what Type of NUT this is?

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ArianesGrandma Yorkville, IL(Zone 5b) Oct 04, 2006

Just saw it for the 1st time this week.....they are all over the yard now......

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Lucky_P Hopkinsville, KY(Zone 6b) Oct 04, 2006

Bitternut hickory, Carya cordiformis.
Very thin shells, but unfortunately, the nutmeats are astringent, and will 'turn your mouth inside out' as badly or worse than a green persimmon. Even the squirrels won't eat them unless there's nothing else to eat.

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ArianesGrandma Yorkville, IL(Zone 5b) Oct 04, 2006

the animals here are eating them left and right. I tried one and it wasnt bad..a bit dry like a walnut.

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Lucky_P Hopkinsville, KY(Zone 6b) Oct 05, 2006

Ah. You may have the elusive 'sweet bitternut' - which may be a hybrid of bitternut with shagbark or pignut hickory. I've got one seedling of this hybrid cross growing, but I don't know if I'll live long enough to ever eat a nut from it; mine is very slow-growing.

Nut shape and husk morphology sure looks like bitternut - but you've not included anything to provide any scale of reference, so far as size is concerned.

If you can, have a look at the tree - bitternut has very characeristic sulfur-yellow terminal buds on its branches.

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ArianesGrandma Yorkville, IL(Zone 5b) Oct 13, 2006

It’s my Neighbors tree but these fall on my side....so I thought I'd see if they were editable. I tried one small peice and DIDN'T LIKE it... His Tree is VERY TALL and rather tiny leaves...

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Lucky_P Hopkinsville, KY(Zone 6b) Oct 15, 2006

So... it wasn't bad, or was it? Which one?
I've never yet tasted a bitternut nutmeat that didn't leave me spitting and spluttering, trying to get the astringent taste out of my mouth.

Bitternut is one of the very fastest-growing of the hickories, but its wood is not quite of the same quality as shagbark, mockernut, pecan, etc. Makes good firewood though.
In some areas of the country, it is used as a rootstock for pecan, but there are some pecan and hickory selections that are not graft-compatible with bitternut understock.

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ArianesGrandma Yorkville, IL(Zone 5b) Oct 19, 2006

Yes, it was a little bitter....NOT TERRIBLE, but I wouldn't use it in My BROWNIES or BANANA BREAD

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