Shagbark hickory nuts
Carya ovata
- When
- Typically September – October — September, October. Earlier in the south, later in the north.
- Where it grows
- Mature hardwood forest and old fence lines.
- How to know it
- Unmistakable bark peeling off in long vertical shaggy plates; husks split cleanly into four to release a pale, sweet nut.
- Look-alikes
- Bitternut hickory looks similar but the nut is bitter; shagbark's shaggy bark is the tell.
- Harvest and use
- The best-flavoured wild nut in the east. Crack, pick, and use anywhere pecans go.
Found in these regions
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Also ready in September
FruitAugust – SeptemberBeach plum
Prunus maritima
Low sprawling shrub in the sand, with dusty purple plums about the size of a marble.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
NutSeptember – OctoberBlack walnut
Juglans nigra
Tennis-ball green husks lying under a tall tree with long compound leaves; the husk stains everything it touches brown.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Sandy Wolkenberg · CC BY 4.0
FruitAugust – SeptemberChokecherry
Prunus virginiana
Long drooping clusters of dark red-to-black cherries on a small tree with finely toothed oval leaves.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
Educational information only. Never eat a wild plant or mushroom identified from a single photograph or description — confirm with a regional field guide or an experienced forager, and know the poisonous species in your area first.