Nuts

The truth about nuts may surprise you.

While you probably already know that peanuts are not nuts (they’re legumes), many of the other foods you have come to know as nuts are not true nuts at all. Let’s begin by learning the botanical definition of nuts.

Raw mixed nuts (Kai Reschke) Pixabay

True nuts are hard-shelled, inedible pods that hold both the fruit and the seed of a plant. These pods do not open of their own accord, which means they are indehiscent. The pod, or shell, of a nut is made from the ovary wall, which hardens over time. Hazelnuts, chestnuts, and acorns are true nuts. So are kola nuts, which gives “cola” soft drinks their signature flavor.

Immature hazelnuts (Thomas Molnar, Rutgers University, Dept. of Plant Biology and Pathology) CC BY-SA 2.0

[Did you know that small nuts are called ‘nutlets”? To me, that sounds like the perfect name for a little chihuahua.]​

​So, when is a nut not a nut?

A nut is not a nut when it is a fruit seed. Fruit seeds can be angiosperm, drupe, or gymnosperm seeds:

• Gymnosperm seeds, such as pine nuts and ginkgo nuts, are not true nuts.
• Angiosperm, or flowering plants that produce seeds within a carpel, include macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, peanuts, and soybeans.
• Drupes, such as peaches and cherries, are a type of angiosperm which have hard-shelled pods that hold a seed, but their fruit is on the outside. Almonds, cashews, pecans, pistachios, walnuts, coffee beans, and coconuts are all drupes.

These not-nut nuts are commonly referred to as culinary nuts.

[Did you know that cashews are the seeds of an accessory fruit, which means they share characteristics with strawberries and poison ivy. Isn’t botany amazing?]

Ripe cashew apples with seeds hanging below (Abhishek Jacob) CC BY-SA 3.0

Of course, you can call any of these delicious morsels "nuts" whenever you want to. True nut or culinary nut, many of these yummy snacks find their way into our gardens and foodscapes. Which ones are you growing?