List Of Nuts And Seeds

This list of nuts and seeds can give you ideas for healthy snacks and healthy packed lunches.

These are culinary nuts--food items regarded as nuts. That's somewhat different than botanical nuts.

Botanical Nuts

In botany, a "nut" is a kind of fruit with a precise definition:

A fruit with a hard shell; a seed within that is unattached to the shell; and the shell never spontaneously opens to release the seed.

The definition is not very relevant to culinary nuts.

Culinary Nuts

A culinary nut is just whatever is thought of as an edible nut. It's generally a kind of edible fruit with a hard shell, or it may be the edible seed of a fruit.

List of Nuts - Culinary

Beech Family

Roasted ChestnutsRoasted Chestnuts

Family: Fagaceae

Chestnut
Chinkapin

Birch Family

HazelnutsHazelnuts

Family: Betulaceae

Filbert
Hazelnut

Cashew Family

PistachiosPistachios

Family: Anacardiaceae

Cashew
Pistachio

Other family members: mango, poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac.

Legume Family

PeanutsPeanuts

Family: Leguminosae

Peanut

See Types of Vegetables for other legumes.

Palm Family

CoconutCoconut

Family: Arecaceae

Coconut

See List of Fruits for more palm family fruits.

Pine Family

Family: Pinaceae

Pine nut
Pinyon

Protea Family

Macadamia NutsMacadamia Nuts

Family: Proteaceae

Macadamia

Rose Family, Plum Genus

AlmondsAlmonds

Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Plum

Almond

See List of Fruits for more Rose family fruits.

Sapucaya Family

Family: Lecythidaceae

Brazil nut
Paradise nut

Walnut Family

WalnutsWalnuts

Family: Juglandaceae

Black walnut
Butternut / White walnut
English walnut / Persian walnut
Heartnut / Japanese walnut
Hickory nut
Pecan

List of Seeds

Composite Family

Family: Compositae

Safflower
Sunflower

See Types of Vegetables for other members of the Composite family.

Flax Family

Family: Linaceae

Flaxseed

Gourd Family

Family: Cucurbitaceae

Pumpkin seed

See Types of Vegetables for other members of the Gourd family.

Pedalium Family

Family: Pedaliaceae

Sesame seed

Poppy Family

Family: Papveraceae

Poppy seed

Nuts According to the FDA

The Food and Drug Administration has created a list of tree nuts for the purpose of labeling allergic ingredients.

In 2004, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) identified "major allergens," believed to be responsible for 90% of true food allergies. It directed that these allergens should be labeled when they are ingredients in food.

The major allergens are: milk, egg, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, and soybeans.

Tree nuts are major allergens, and so are two legumes: peanuts (a culinary nut) and soybeans.

FDA's List of Tree Nuts

Almond
Beech nut
Brazil nut
Butternut
Cashew
Chestnut (Chinese, American, European, Seguin)
Chinquapin
Coconut
Filbert / Hazelnut
Ginko nut
Hickory nut
Lichee nut
Macadadmia nut / Bush nut
Pecan
Pine nut  / Pinon nut
Pili nut
Pistachio
Sheanut
Walnut (English, Persian, Black, Japanese, California), Heartnut, Butternut

The FDA's Guidance notes that this list "may include a species that has no food use"!

Source: Food and Drug Administration, Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding Food Allergens

Notes on Nut Allergies

Even though most nuts are not closely related, it's not uncommon to be allergic to all nuts.

Few people, however, are allergic to coconut.

Benefits of Nuts

I'm going to refer you to the excellent site Food's Healing Power for fascinating, user-friendly information about the health benefits of nuts!