Walnut (Photos)
Juglans spp. To 100 ft. (30 m)
Leaves have 7-23 leaflets.
Greenish fruits have a blackish-brown
nut inside. Gather nuts in autumn when
ripe. Shell nutmeats and boil. Use in
pies, cakes or mixed with meal.

Pine (Photos)
Pinus spp. to 130 ft. (39 m)
Needles grow in clusters of 2-5.
Heat mature cones to get them to
release seeds. Largest seeds are
produced by pinyon pines. Needles
and inner bark are also edible.

Shagbark Hickory (Photos)
Carya ovata To 100ft. (30 m)
Bark curls away from the trunk. Leaves
have 5 leaflets. Prepare nuts as for
walnuts above. Some hickories are
poisonous. Do not eat unless you
can positively identify this species.

Pecan (Photos)
Carya illinoensis To 100 ft. (30 m)
Compound leaves have 9-17 leaflets.
Nuts grow in small clusters. Eat
raw or in pies and baked goods.

Butternut (Photos)
Juglans cinerea To 70 ft. (21 m)
Leaves have 11-17 leaflets.
Oval fruits are 4-ribbed. Harvest and prepare nuts as for walnuts.

Oak (Photos)
Quercus spp. To 100 ft (30 m)
Highly variable family of shrubs and
trees produce nut-like acorns.
Bitterness of acorns can be tempered
by soaking them for days in cool
water (a stream is ideal) or boiling
them in several changes of water.

Honey Mesquite (Photos)
Prosopis glandulosa To 20 ft. (6 m)
Leaves have 7-20 pairs of leaflets. Seed
pods are up to 8 in. (20 cm) long.
Flowers are source of sugar-rich nectar.
Seeds and the mealy pulp surrounding
them can be eaten raw or cooked.

Hazelnut (Photos)
Corylus spp. To 10 ft. (3 m)
Sheathed, nut-like fruits mature by
autumn. Remove nuts from husks
and eat raw or cooked.

Common Sunflower (Photos)
Helianthus annuus To 13 ft. (3.9 m)
Common along roadsides and in
waste areas. Cut the sunflower heads
and hang them to dry. Rub dry seeds from the
head and remove the hulls.

Sweetgale (Photos)
Myrica gale To 6 ft. (1.8 m)
Grows along Shores. Flowers bloom May-June
in scaly catkins and are succeeded
by 2-winged nutlets. Dry leaves
and nutlets and use in teas,
stews and sauces.