Japanese walnuts or heartnuts, Juglans ailanthifolia var. cordiformis
Today I was following up on an enquiry about some of the old varieties of walnuts growing at Wimpole*, when I accidently discovered that the heartnuts (Juglans ailanthifolia var. cordiformis) growing in the courtyard are falling to the ground. I can’t remember this ever happening before, because the squirrels usually strip them too quickly. So, making the most of this good fortune, I collected a few to clean up.
In fact when fresh like this they are easy to separate from the outer fleshy husks simply by lighting stepping on them and rolling them under a shoe. The nuts pop out, with the flesh rapidly oxidising to black (staining everything in reach), so it is best to be wearing gloves to handle the husks and nuts at this stage to avoid skin turning brown from the tannins.
But once the nuts are scrubbed up and clean, they are perfectly fine to handle
and admire …
And sample (even if they are tiny) …
And possibly even create rustic jewellery …
*Wimpole Estate holds one of the National Collections of Juglans
Frogend dweller's Blog 
Haven’t seen these; thanks for sharing.
You are welcome. You’d never guess those little hearts were inside would you?
Amazing! I have never seen these before either. How beautiful those little nuts are!
They are a delighful surprise and now that I’ve googled the actual nuts, rather thant he tree, I’ve found lots of stuff to make with them (if I have the energy!)
Well I never…! How big are they when out of the skin?
These kernels are 2.5cm x 2cm, so they are definitely amuse-bouche size! My impression is that properly farmed heartnuts are slightly large, but still small.
New to me. How amazing.
I have a huge walnut tree but I never get a single walnut. Those beastly rats with fluffy tails get there first.
Yeah, for me too. My walnut on the hill was loaded for the first time (it’s about 12years old), but they are all gone now. This is the first year I’ve seen the heartnuts survive to fall at Wimpole too.
Lovely nuts
Huge nuts–they’re beautiful!
The prettiest of the walnuts!
Oh, how divine!
I love these – it’s funny how often nature leaves hearts for us to find.
OK, you’ve got me curious now. What are you thinking of?
If you start looking for hearts, you’ll find them everywhere in nature – tiny, green heart shaped markings on some forms of snowdrops, many leaves etc. I brought some heart shaped rocks back from my last visit to the seaside. I must be subconsciously looking for them, because I see a lot.
So, how do they taste? Just like regular walnuts?
Actually they taste delicious. Yes, like regular walnuts, but but slightly milder – as though served with cream.
Cute nuts, I have never seen them before.
Delighted to have been able to share them with you. You would never guess what they look like from the outside.