About this tutorial
Hello! In this tutorial, we are going to meet some of the most common tree nuts you are likely to find on your countryside nature walk. Are you ready? Lets get started!
Acorns
Acorns come in all shapes and sizes, but usually have an oval shaped seed nestled in a textured cup.
Beech nuts (mast)
Beech nuts are triangular and nestled inside a three-bladed husk, which is smooth inside and spiky outside.
Hazel (filberts)
Hazelnuts are round with a little crinkled gather at the top and sit inside a feathery, leafy husk.
Horse chestnuts (conkers)
Horse chestnuts are round, deep chestnut brown with a pale spot beneath and grow inside a tough, spiky, rounded shell.
Sweet chestnuts
Sweet chestnuts are a beautiful reddish brown, with pale tufts on top and often grow in pairs inside a spikey shell.
Walnuts
Walnuts are a light brown, crinkly nut, growing inside a tough, fibrous shell, inside a tough, apple-green outer husk.
What are nuts?
Nuts and seeds are basically the babies or offspring of parent trees. They are produced following pollination of the trees’ flowers and contain all the genetic material of the tree. Inside, they have a supply of food and nutrients ready to start their journey into new trees and in fact, they are specially adapted to disperse away from their parent trees.
Which trees have nuts and seeds?
There are many sizes and shapes of tree seeds, but usually, we only notice the larger sized seeds. The nine seeds you are likely to notice on your nature walks: ash, field maple, hornbeam, linden, London plane, Norway maple, pine, sycamore and wych elm.
The six most common ‘nut’ producing trees, are: beech, hazel, horse chestnut, oak, sweet chestnut and walnut. Let’s take a look at them.
Did you know...
Summary
Well, there we go! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and have a better idea now, of what our six most common wild nuts are and how to identify them. To be notified about new nature walk tutorials, you can join the Nook by clicking the pink button below x
