Top 5 Wild Edible Nuts
Hi everybody, my name is Eric Joseph Lewis.
I am a forager, permaculturist,
and all-around plant lover from the Mid-Atlantic region.
Today I will be sharing my top 5
wild edible nuts with you.
I hope you enjoy.
Thank you so much for being with us.
Number 1 nut tree of all time is the mighty hazelnut.
The whole Corylus genus,
I have so much love for.
Corylus americana has a small nut
with a hard shell and grows abudantly
in the wild and is super resistant to
a disease called Eastern Filbert Blight.
This one, Corylus avellana, is the European hazelnut.
This one is not so blight resistant,
but it has incredible, huge nuts.
I have a couple in my pocket here so you can see.
This is a great size for a hazelnut.
The shells are pretty thin.
They crack out very easily.
This is one that I feel has tremendous
viability for backyard growers as well as commercial potential.
In the Willamette Valley, people are
growing European hazelnuts with great success
and yielding as much as 2000-4000 pounds per acre.
These are nuts that are 2800 calories per pound.
On a calorie basis, this is almost competative with corn.
The interesting thing, and one of the
beautiful things about the hazelnut, to me,
is that being a smaller shrub,
it starts to yield nuts in as little as 3 years.
This is absolutely one of the real
blessings in the nut tree world.
I highly recommend everybody get into
finding hazelnuts and planting hazelnuts wherever you can.
Corylus, the hazelnut genus: number 1 on the list.
Number 2 on my list is the chestnut.
I love this tree for so many reasons.
Unfortunately, the American chestnut
is what we call functionally extinct
because a blight called Cryphonectria parasitica
came into this country and made it impossible,
or very difficult for chestnuts to reach maturity.
But we do have Castanea mollissima
that has been planted out by lots of people
and now has been spread around by
lots of squirrels since the early 1900s.
We can still find lots of semi-feral
and cultivated Chinese chestnuts,
often which are greatly underappreciated.
You can go and knock on your neighbors doors
and ask them if it is okay to harvest the chestnuts.
These things are super delicious.
They are easy to gather.
They store very well.
They make an incredible flour.
You can steam them up.
The list goes on and on.
So does my love for chestnuts.
So, number 2 on the list is Castenea
mollissima, dentata, sativa, the whole genus.
The whole chestnut genus.
I love them all.
Number 3 on the list is black walnut, Juglans nigra.
One of the things I really love about this tree
is it is exceptionally reliable.
On top of that, the nuts have around 2800 calories per pound.
They are loaded with really amazing omega-3 fats.
They will grow just about anywhere.
I have seen them high up on hilltops
and right here, you can see this one is
growing right by a little creek,
a little stream/overflow of a springhouse.
They tolerate a wide range of conditions.
They are very tough, very reliable, very tasty.
The best part of all is that they
store very well in the shells.
If you dry these things out fast enough,
they can last in the shell for 4 or 5
years without getting rancid at all.
That is pretty amazing.
Number 4 on the list is pecan.
This is Carya illionoinensis.
Pecans are originally from the Mississippi
River basin area, but they have been
spread all over the country
and even into Canada.
Parts of Canada do have pecans
that actually produce viable nuts.
These are a really tasty treat.
They are absolutely delicious.
They are loaded with nutrition,
high in omega-3 fats.
They are in the same family as that black walnut.
That Jugland acea family is known
for being high in omega-3 fats.
It is also loaded with vinylic compounds.
The main issue with pecans is that
in the North, they do not fill out as readily.
So this is one that you will find very prolifically
in southern states, like Florida, Alabama,
Georgia, South Carolina, even Tennesse.
As you go north, these trees become
more and more rare and more and more precious.
This one here is Mohawk.
We are at Parker Coble's amazing tree nursery
in Pennsylvania today to introduce
you to this amazing friend here.
Wherever you can find them,
pecans are incredible.
Wherever they are not growing,
they are worth planting.
Get some pecans in your life.
Pecan: Carya illinoinensis.
Last but certainly not least on our list
is the mighty oak tree.
I chose to bring this one in last because
it is the one that I have the least experience with.
It is also the one that I feel holds
the most potential in it.
I say this because every species of Quercus,
every species of oak tree in the world is edible.
They have varying levels of
a class of compounds called tannins,
so their desirability varies.
And their flavor varies dramatically,
but this is an incredible tree.
It is found all over the world.
Every species in the world,
or most every species has been
a food source for humans at some point or another.
It is one that carries a tremendous amount of potential.
There are 2 main groups.
You have the red oaks on one side
and the white oaks on one side.
They are relativey easy to differentiate between.
The red oaks have these pointed leaves.
They have acorns that are small and round
with caps that are bulbous.
That is what you will expect from
the red oak and black oak groups.
From the white oak tribes or related species,
you will end up with these rounded leaf
edges and longer and skinnier acorns.
These are the kind that we find a lot down in Florida.
Things like Live Oak and Laurel Oak
and members of the white oak tribe.
Either way, whatever species you have
abundantly around you, they are all edible.
They are all wonderful, and well worth
deepening your relationship with.
Definitely number 5 on the list is the mighty oak tree.
Thanks so much for watching the video.
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As well, in the links, you will find channels
to get to the people who helped with all
the recording, the metacreative crew.
Thanks so much for being with us.
Keep on sharing the good vibes
and connecting with the plants.
Peace family.
Follow: @EricJosephLewisPlants
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