List of Tree Nuts and Their Uses

Tree nuts are hard-shelled fruits with an edible interior that grow on trees. Technically, we can call them the seeds of these fruit-bearing trees.

The beloved nuts are a staple in various diets around the world due to their health benefits and versatile uses in cooking and baking.

Let’s learn more about various tree nuts and their individual uses.

1. Almonds (Prunus dulcis)

• Local Name: Sweet almond
• Family: Rosaceae
• Annual or Perennial: Annual

Almonds are one of the most consumed nuts worldwide. The almond tree is dormant during the winter, blooming again between January and February. Around March, the tree produces small nuts that mature in late summer or fall to become the nuts we love. 

It is native to:

• Middle East
• South Asia

Uses

1. They are eaten raw or roasted as a snack. 
2. They are used as an ingredient in sweet and savory dishes.
3. Almonds are used to make other products like milk, butter, flour, and oil.
4. They are used to make a sweet paste for making candies.
5. It is a popular ingredient in baking and pastry making.
6. Almond hulls are used to make compost, mulch, and animal feed. 

2. Macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia)

• Local Name: Macadamia nut, Queensland nut, Hawaii nut
• Family: Proteceae
• Annual or Perennial: Annual

The evergreen macadamia trees flower in late spring to early summer. The flowers later turn into drupes that mature over six to seven months. Macadamia nuts contain the highest amount of beneficial monounsaturated fats among tree nuts. 

It is native to:

• Australia

Uses

1. Roasted or salted macadamia nuts are a beloved snack for their rich buttery flavour.
2. The nuts are a popular ingredient in savory dishes like stir-fries or as a garnish.
3. Macadamia nuts can be pressed for cooking oil, valued for their rich flavour and high smoke point.
4. They are processed to produce products for hair and skin care. 
5. They are also used as an ingredient to bake muffins, cakes, cookies, and tasty chocolate-covered desserts.
6. Macadamia shells are used as mulch and compost for orchards, carbon filters for air and water purification, and as life-saving poisoning treatments.  

3. Walnuts (Juglans regia)

• Local Name: English walnut, Persian walnut, Common walnut 
• Family: Juglandaceae
• Annual or Perennial: Annual 

Walnuts are known for their wrinkled, brain-like appearance. The walnut trees produce flowers between May and June that later turn into drupes that contain the kernel (the edible walnut). They are covered by a smooth green husk that splits open when mature around October to November. 

It is native to: 

• Europe
• Central Asia

Uses

1. Walnuts are eaten raw, salted, or roasted as a snack.
2. They are added to salads, pasta, and other savory dishes for their nutty flavour.
3. The nuts can be pressed for oil often used for salads and cooking.
4. Walnuts are used in baking cakes, cookies, brownies, and breads.
5. Ground walnut shells are used in cosmetic and industrial applications. 

4. Hazelnuts (Corylus avellana)

• Local Name: European hazel, Cobnut, Filbert, European filbert
• Family: Betulaceae
• Annual or Perennial: Annual 

Hazelnuts grow on a deciduous shrub or small tree with multiple stems and a bushy appearance. They typically mature in late summer to early fall, around September and October. A good shake is all that is needed to harvest these nuts as the fully ripe ones tend to fall easily on the ground.

It is native to:

• British Isles
• Europe
• Western Asia

Uses

1. It is commonly known as an ingredient for making the popular nut spread, Nutella.
2. It is eaten raw or roasted as a healthy snack. 
3. Hazelnuts are common ingredients in baked goods such as cookies and pastries.
4. The nuts are added to a variety of salads and side dishes.
5. Hazelnut is used to make other plant-based alternative products like salad oil, cooking oil, and milk.
6. The husks are used as natural mulch and in creating home decor.
7. The husks and shells are under research for potential cancer cell proliferation inhibition.

5. Cashew (Anacardium occidentale)

• Local Name: Cashew nut, Blister nut
• Family: Anacardiaceae
• Annual or Perennial: Annual 

Cashews are crescent-shaped nuts that are softer than most tree nuts. The cashew tree’s white to pink flowers turn into fleshy and juicy cashew apples. However, the true cashew develops at the bottom of the cashew apple, encased in a hard shell.

It is native to: 

• South America

Uses

1. Roasted or salted cashews can be eaten as a snack. 
2. Cashews are used to make plant-based alternatives like oil, cheese, milk, and cream.
3. They are widely used in cooking and baking.
4. Cashew husks are used to make animal feed, biomass fuel, and compost.

6. Pistachios (Pistacia vera)

• Local Name: Happy nut, Smiling nut
• Family: Anacardiaceae
• Annual or Perennial: Annual

Pistachios grow on a deciduous tree with spreading branches and a bushy appearance. The drupe takes several months to turn into mature fruit which contains a pistachio kernel encased in a hard shell. 

It is native to:

• Central and Western Asia

Uses

1. Pistachios can be eaten when roasted or salted as a snack.
2. They are used to make popular desserts like baklava and pistachio halva, ice cream, pudding, and pastries.
3. The nuts are added to meat and rice dishes. 

7. Brazil Nuts (Bertholletia excelsa)

• Local Name: Brazil nuts
• Family: Lecythidaceae
• Annual or Perennial: Annual 

Brazil nuts grow on large and long-lived trees found only in the Amazon rainforest. After the flowers are pollinated by the unique large-bodied bees, the fruit takes up to 14 months to mature. It resembles a coconut with a hard shell (weighing about 2 kg), containing 8-24 wedge-shaped nuts. 

It is native to:

• Brazil
• Bolivia
• Colombia
• The Guyanas
• Peru
• Venezuela

Uses

1. They are eaten raw or roasted as a healthy snack.
2. Brazil nuts are a common ingredient in cooking and baking. 
3. The nuts are pressed for oil used for cooking and in the manufacturing of cosmetics and paints.
4. The nutshell is pulverized and used to polish ceramics and metals.

Sylvia Kiragu

Lead Editor for Insight Weeds.