seed ident required

[Bushman5]

Wrong side of the country for me, dawsonbob - maybe pitdog.

B5, if it smells like almonds, definitely do not try it.

Doc

oh trust me, i'm aware of the not trying things i cannot positively ID.

now if it happens to be poisonous........i'm going to crush a bunch up, bottle in veg oil and save for future blowdart coatings.....

 

[paleojoe]

Doc,
If there are nuts in good abundance, there must be nut yielding plants in the area then, no?

Otherwise they were transported. Animals would have stored them somewhere in a cluster however at this time of year...

Here, C. cornuta is an understory plant in our coastal temperate rainforests of Pine, Fir, Cedar, Madrone, Sequoia, Hazel, etc. It loves the moist forests.
Medium shrub-small tree in size, it blends in very well, is lightly leafed and sparsely branched and easy to see through... I've scanned over it countless times. Of course, I could be wrong! It does look small next to that penny!

I would say go back to the spot and examine the area again. If they are edible, you've got a good little harvest area!

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Doc,
If there are nuts in good abundance, there must be nut yielding plants in the area then, no? Not necessarily, it could be seeds as suggested by B5 in his OP.

Otherwise they were transported. Animals would have stored them somewhere in a cluster however at this time of year...

Here, C. cornuta is an understory plant in our coastal temperate rainforests of Pine, Fir, Cedar, Madrone, Sequoia, Hazel, etc. It loves the moist forests.
Medium shrub-small tree in size, it blends in very well, is lightly leafed and sparsely branched and easy to see through... I've scanned over it countless times. Of course, I could be wrong!

I would say go back to the spot and examine the area again. If they are edible, you've got a good little harvest area!

We also have Beaked Hazelnut growing in our area, however, more abundant further north, or at least that's been my experience.

You have a point about it being difficult to spot, nothing really noteworthy about its appearance, except the nuts.

I made the last comment based on B5's assurance that there are no nut trees.

Also I have a problem with 6mm long in the husk and 5 mm out of the husk (quote from OP) - if it's the husk, it's a lot longer than 6 mm and if it's the shell he's referring to, it's still about half the size of the nuts, at least here in Ontario.

Another thing

paleojoe: Animals would have stored them somewhere in a cluster however at this time of year...

and I agree. The nuts usually mature in late summer Aug-Sept, why would they still be laying around on the ground?

I find it problematic in the extreme to try and identify something with so little information, especially when it's in an unfamiliar area .

I think, B5, it definitely warrants some more investigation.

Doc

Edited to read: I just measured a penny and it is about 20 mm in diameter, so B5's measurements are out, judging by the penny size reference. That would put it in the right size frame for Beaked Hazelnut.

 

[Bushman5]

yes i wasn't being precise in the measurements, just eyeballing it. Its not large though, if identified as edible, one would need a very large amount to get any real sustenance.........

when i get time i'll head back and try to get a picture of the area.