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sandragw_gw6b

Could this be black walnut tree?

sandragw(6b_MA)
9 years ago

The fruit is pretty big, like a tennis ball. Found this on my walk through the trail. Not sure if it is edible. Can someone confirm? Thank you very much!!

Comments (7)

  • lycopus
    9 years ago

    Yes it looks like black walnut. They are edible but getting to the little bit of meat inside can be quite messy.

  • TNflowerlover Zone 7a
    9 years ago

    lol I think I would recognize them better all OVER MY YARD!! I hate those things (though, I love walnuts). They drop on the house...on my garden (and grow next spring to summer)...on my car....yeah. I do think it is, though. And yes, they are VERY difficult and messy to crack. I would rather just buy some. lol Where there any of these on the ground of the trail, too? They are starting to drop steadily here.

  • sandragw(6b_MA)
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Yes, there are some already on the ground of the trail. Majority are still up on the tree. I've heard of black walnut but never knew I would find one close by. Definitely worth buying the meat then spending the time to crack it open. Thank you for identifying the mystery nut!!

  • linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
    9 years ago

    If you can buy the meat, you are lucky! My folks' property was loaded with them, and we kept trying with little success. If you collect any nuts, the husks produce a strong dye: so don't carry any in your pockets!

  • calliope
    9 years ago

    OMG...............we have and harvest them. I did the shucking one year from the hull, and the mate did the cracking and nut extraction. We have a device designed especially for them. To make a long story short, I was working with the public at the time, and wore several sets of gloves to keep the juice from staining my fingers. Ha! The dye seeped through a pair of cotton and also latex gloves. My fingers started out green and turned brown and it looked like the hands of an old geezer who smoked unfiltered cigarettes down to the nubbins. I taped all my fingers over every day for a couple weeks out of embarrassment. Nothing, including hand scrubs with scouring powder took it off.

  • fatamorgana2121
    9 years ago

    My parents' house still has a walnut stain on the cellar floor so many decades later from when we harvested and stored the nuts there -- oops! Yes, beautiful and strong walnut-colored dye!

    Nuts are an acquired taste but if you've acquired it, they are well worth the work!

    FataMorgana

  • sandragw(6b_MA)
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Oh my! I didn't know about the stain and I cut 1 up out of curiosity. Now my finger nails and fingers on my left hand look really dirty. I think I need to do the same to my right hand to make them look even :)