Bay nuts
From Burden's Landing
I spotted these Bay nut shells underneath a huge California Bay laurel tree in spring 2017 at Las Trampas Regional Wilderness.
According to Feral Kevin, you can actually eat the fruit which is related to and resembles avocado. The problem is that you need to find them when they're perfectly ripe.
Purple-skinned fruit less bitter than green.
Collect fallen nuts. Roast at 350 for 40 minutes. You can grind them in a food processor or blender and use them for tea.
See Also
- Bay leaves
- Roasted Bay Nuts: Northern California's indigenous "cacao"
- How to forage and prepare Bay nuts
- Bay Nuts: The cacao-coffee bean of foraged finds
- Baynutting: Tips for harvesting, storing, and using California Bay nuts
- "Traditional and modern methods of acorn preparation." Also has information on acorn.