9 Common Nut Trees In Virginia (Pictures & Identification)

Collecting nuts from wild trees was a favorite pastime of mine as a child living in Virginia. But I had no idea what kind of nuts I had gathered at the time. 

Virginia’s landscape is full of trees bearing nuts of all sizes. And if you want to know what kind of nuts your child has collected, this article is the right place.

I will walk you through the most commonly found nut trees in Virginia. I’ll also tell you how to tell the trees apart so that when you go hiking next time, you can find them easily.

Additionally, some of these nuts are very poisonous, and you should make sure that they are not in your child’s bag. 

So, let’s get started.

1. American Beech

The fruit of the American Beech tree is the Beech nut, which is about 3/4 of an inch long and has a prickly bur. These burs break into four pieces. Each piece has two shiny brown nuts with three angles that are 12 inches long. Many birds and mammals, like mice, squirrels, chipmunks, black bears, deer, foxes, ruffed grouse, ducks, and blue jays, love this nut. And, it is one of the most commonly seen nut trees in Virginia.

The tree has a thick trunk and a wide, round crown. It usually grows to be between 60 and 80 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide. It does best in bottoms that are rich and well-drained and in wet coves. 

The leaves grow in pairs, are simple, and range in length from 2 to 6 inches. The bark is thin and light gray, and the twigs are thin and zigzag-shaped. 

The wood is known for being strong and hard, but it doesn’t last long when it’s out in the weather. It is often used to make furniture, flooring, veneer, rough lumber, tools, wedges, novelty items, baskets, charcoal, and fuel.

2. Alleghany Chinkapin

The Alleghany Chinkapin, which is also called Castanea pumila, is a large bush or small tree that often grows in groups called thickets. 

This tree’s nut is smooth, dark brown, and sweet; it is eaten by people and many kinds of animals, like woodpeckers, squirrels, jays, and chipmunks.  

The tree can grow up to 15 to 30 feet tall and have a 1-foot diameter. It is usually found in the understory of upland hardwood forests, most often on drier soils, and can reach a height of 15 to 30 feet. 

The leaves are simple, alternate, oblong to lance-shaped, 3–6 inches long, 1.5–2 inches wide, and have coarsely toothed edges. 

The bark is a light brown with a hint of red. It is slightly furrowed and broken into scales that look like alternating simple leaves that are 5-8 inches long with coarse, sharply pointed teeth along the edges. 

Male flowers are small, pale green (almost white), and in 6-8 inch hanging catkins, while females are at the base of catkins (near twigs) and have a terrible odor. 

The fruit is an extremely sharp, prickly burr, 2-2.5 inches long, with 2 or 3 shiny, spherical, brown, tasty nuts, 0.5-1 inch long. The wood is similar to oak in that it has a coarse grain, but it doesn’t have the big rays that oak does. It doesn’t rot very easily. 

The tree was once valued for its lumber, furniture, flooring, poles, posts, fence rails, railroad ties, tannins, and fuel. 

The nuts were a big part of what people, animals, and many other species ate. Some chestnut split-rail fences can still be found in Virginia.

3. Black Walnut

Squirrels, birds, and humans all love black walnuts’ delicious, oily nuts. Crushed nut shells are used to clean jet engines, fill dynamite, clean smokestacks, and carry insecticides.

The straight, clear trunk, narrow crown, and dense twigs and branches can grow to 50-90 feet tall and 2-3 feet wide. It thrives in rich bottomlands, damp coves, and stream sides on lower north- or east-facing slopes in deep, well-drained soils. 

The alternating, pinnately compound, 12-24-inch leaves with 10-24 sharply oval, highly serrated, long-pointed leaflets. In October, they turn a bright yellow, 3-3.5 inches long.

The blooms are yellow-green, with males in 2.5-5.5-inch catkins and females on small spikes near twig ends. 

The round, 2-2.5-inch fruit has a thick, green, non-splitting husk and a firm, wrinkled nut inside. It matures in late summer or early fall.

thick, dark brown to black, ridged, and wrinkled bark with a deep diamond pattern. Thick, light brown twigs with a buff-colored chambered pith inside; tan, large buds with a few fuzzy scales; 3-lobed leaf scars that resemble a “monkey face” The deep chocolate-brown heartwood of the black walnut is used for veneer, fine furniture, paneling, cabinetry, and gun stocks.

4. Butternut

The butternut, which is also called the white walnut, is a tall tree that can grow to be between 60 and 70 feet tall and 2 feet wide. It usually grows along well-drained stream banks, coves, and slopes. It has a crooked or forked trunk with wide-spreading branches. 

The husks of the nuts can be used to make a yellow or orange dye, while both people and wildlife eat the sweet nuts.

The leaves are alternate, pinnately compound, and 15 to 25 inches long. They have 11 to 17 oblong, pointed leaflets with toothed edges and a thick, fuzzy leaf stem. 

Male flowers have a single stem and are 2.5 to 5.5 inches long, while the female counterparts are on a short spike at the end of the branch. 

The fruit looks like a lemon and has a yellow-green, sticky, and hard-to-split husk. Inside is a rough, grooved nut with sweet, oily meat. 

The bark is a light, ashy gray color with shiny, flat-topped ridges that turn into diamond patterns over time. The thick, fuzzy, yellow-brown to gray twigs have dark brown, split pith inside. The large buds have a few fuzzy scales, and the leaf scars look like a “monkey face,” with a ridge of fuzz above the scar that looks like an eyebrow. 

The wood is light brown, soft, coarse-grained, and polishes well. It isn’t usually cut down for lumber, but it is used in the Southeast to make cabinets, furniture, toys, and other fun wood projects. Butternut trees, like black walnuts, make a chemical called juglone that keeps other plants from growing near them.

5. Shagbark Hickory

The Shagbark Hickory, also known as Scalybark Hickory or Shellbark Hickory, is one of the tallest native nut trees in Virginia, capable of growing up to 120 ft. 

It has a tall, straight trunk with an open round or oblong crown, and its bark peels away in at least one-foot-long, thick plates that curl outward at both ends. 

This tree’s nuts are nearly spherical, measuring between 1.5 and 2 inches in diameter, and have a very thick, four-lobed husk that splits open when they are fully grown. 

Its leaves are pinnately compound and 8 to 14 inches long, with five (or rarely seven) leaflets that are tapered and have saw-like margins. The male flowers are yellowish-green with three parts. The female flowers, on the other hand, are quite short and clustered at the ends of the branches.

The strong and tough wood of this tree is used for many things, like tool handles, furniture, flooring, sports equipment, charcoal, and fuelwood. It is also an important source of food for many animal species and the Native Americans who lived long ago.

All the hickory trees produce nuts. Check out our article dedicated to Virginia’s native hickory trees for more information.

6. Yellow Birch

With heights of 60 to 80 feet and diameters of 1 to 3 feet, the majestic yellow birch is the showiest among nut trees in Virginia. 

Its cone-shaped fruit is between 3/4 and 1 1/4 inches long and contains two nutlets with wings that are guarded by hairy scales. Deer, red squirrels, grouse, and other animals consume these buds and nuts.

This tree’s dense, strong wood can be used for a wide range of things in the wood industry, including veneer flooring, plywood cabinets, woodenware, interior doors, pulpwood, charcoal, and tar oils, among many other things. It should be noted that yellow birch is exceedingly combustible; even a moist piece of wood might catch fire.

It grows well in well-drained, fertile loams at altitudes of at least 3000 feet. It has an uneven, broad crown with branches that hang down and leaves that are 3–5 inches long and arranged in pairs. 

In the spring, reddish-green male catkins can be seen near the terminals of slender 1-inch twigs, but female catkins are upright and measure only 5/8 of an inch in height. 

Young trees have bronze bark that is glossy and peels off in thin horizontal strips, whereas older trees have reddish-brown scaly plates on their trunks. The twigs of yellow birch, despite being small, are sturdy, change color from greenish brown to a lighter brown as they age, and become smooth.

7. Eastern Hophornbeam

Eastern Hophornbeam (Leverwood or Ironwood) is a small, slender tree with strong, durable wood. They produce small nuts that are usually eaten by Ruffed Grouse, Wild Turkey, Quail, Red and Gray Squirrels, Cottontails, White-tailed Deer, Ring-necked Pheasant, Purple Finch, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and Downy Woodpeckers.

These trees are 20-30 feet tall and 7-10 inches wide, with a rounded crown and long, slender branches that may droop. They grow in the understory of moist, well-drained floodplains and lower slopes on many soil types. 

It has simple, oblong leaves that are 2 to 4 inches long. The tips of the leaves get narrower, and the edges are cut twice. Spring brings small, yellow-green flowers and male catkins that look like bird’s toes and female catkins that are thin and light green. 

They also produce clusters of leafy, oblong, papery sacs with little nutlets. The bark is light brown to reddish-brown and split into thin scales that peel off the trunk like cat claws. 

The twigs are thin, reddish brown, smooth, and maybe a little fuzzy. The small, oval buds are covered in green and reddish-brown scales that are very finely grooved. Eastern Hophornbeam wood is tough, light brown to white, and has thick, pale sapwood. Its handles and mallets are rarely harvested.

8. American Hornbeam

The American Hornbeam, also known as Musclewood, Blue Beech, Water Beech, and Ironwood, is a small but strong tree whose wood is recognized for being dense and durable. The tree produces small nuts that are usually eaten by squirrels, birds, and beavers. 

The leaves are simple and oval-shaped, measuring between 2 and 4 inches in length, with a serrated margin. 

In the spring, they produce yellow-green flowers; males have slender catkins and females have fluffy catkins. In addition, they produce fruit in the form of 4 to 6-inch clusters of leafy bracts. T

The bark is a mixture of light gray and blue and is fluted, resembling rippling muscles, hence the name “Musclewood.” 

The branches are thin, zigzag, and brown or gray in hue. Additionally, the buds are tiny, brown, and have a silky tan edge. These trees can reach 20 to 30 feet in height and 8 to 12 inches in diameter, with a bushy, hanging, or crooked top.

The wood of the American Hornbeam has been utilized for tool handles, mallets, wooden cogs, and wedges even though it is rarely harvested. They are typically found in fertile soils close to streams, ponds, or lakes. 

9. Yellow Buckeye

The Yellow Buckeye tree (Aesculus flava Ait.) is notable for its enormous, glossy nuts. This nut is quite poisonous, however. 

This tree can attain a height of 50 to 80 feet, a trunk diameter of 2 to 3 feet, and a rounded crown. It prefers moist, deep, and well-drained river bottoms, coves, and slopes facing north. 

The leaves are opposite, palmately complex, and 10-15 inches long, with 5 oval leaflets measuring 3–7 inches in length and with strongly toothed edges. 

In late April, the flowers are tubular and pale yellow-orange. They grow in huge, upright clusters that are 4–8 inches tall. 

The fruit is a 2-3 inch long smooth capsule with 1-3 brown, lustrous, 1.5-2 inch nuts with a lighter patch on one side. 

At first, the bark is smooth, a light grayish brown, and often has spots. Over time, the spots turn into big, scaly patches. Light, soft, and close-grained, the wood is used for pulpwood and woodenware and is often grown as an ornamental tree. 

Supposedly, mountain folk believed that carrying a buckeye in their pocket would bring them good fortune.

Common Nut Trees In Virginia – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about nut trees in Virginia that people ask on the internet.

Similar Articles

• 14 Common Native Oak Trees In Virginia
• 6 Purple Trees In Virginia
• 4 Common Native Hickory Trees In Virginia
• 5 Common Native Maple Trees In Virginia
• 3 Common Cedar Trees In Virginia
• 3 Common Birch Trees In Virginia
• 8 Native Pine Trees In Virginia
• 3 Native Elm Trees In Virginia
• 2 Native Ash Trees In Virginia
• 7 Native Evergreen Trees In Virginia
• 8 Native Flowering Trees In Virginia
• 2 Common Locust Trees In Virginia
• Common Palm Trees In Virginia
• 6 Pink Flowering Trees In Virginia

Sources

The Regional Gardening team ensures the credibility of the information presented in our articles by exclusively utilizing sources of a reputable nature. These sources include peer-reviewed journals published in esteemed universities and scientific research institutions.

1. Virginia Department Of Forestry
2. Virginia Native Plant Society
3. The US Forest Service
4. Virginia Natural Heritage Program