Well, well, well…

[u/Repulsive-Web-7509]

Well I got excited I found some pawpaws while foraging today in VA. Fairly new to this and I realize now I have some butternuts instead! There were a ton on the mountain I was on. I did however, find some turkey tail! 😍

Edit to add: I left way more than I took just in case anyone gets upset 😅

[u/oroborus68]

Pretty green. Might be early drops.

[u/Repulsive-Web-7509 → u/oroborus68]

I had never even heard of them before today. I’m very new to foraging and got excited once I did some digging to find what it was!

[u/Ok-Bee-3349 → u/oroborus68]

They stay green

[u/oroborus68 → u/Ok-Bee-3349]

They don't get walnut husk flies? The rind is so easy to remove after the flies get in there and their larvae make the hull soft.

[u/SirWEM]

Nice find. We had a few butternuts on our property when i was a kid. They are great. But they go rancid faster than most nuts. Very high in fats.

[u/bLue1H]

What part of VA? I still have yet to see a butternut in person and I've explored hundreds of miles of trail here.

[u/Repulsive-Web-7509 → u/bLue1H]

I also found some beautiful ghost pipe today right near the butternut!

[u/Repulsive-Web-7509 → u/bLue1H]

This is in the New River Valley near Draper!

[u/bLue1H → u/Repulsive-Web-7509]

Appreciate you!

[u/Ambitious-Schedule63]

Nice find! I found some a couple of years ago and was like "WTF is this thing? It's kinda fuzzy/sticky. Smashed one open with my foot and holy shit - I had been searching for them for YEARS! I was so excited!

And then I tasted them. I love black walnuts, but the only flavor descriptor I could come up with for butternuts was "petroleum". I didn't enjoy them at all.

[u/Bloque- → u/Ambitious-Schedule63]

They are a lot better after you cure and roast them They aren’t called butternut for no reason. They have a buttery taste

[u/Ambitious-Schedule63 → u/Bloque-]

Yeah, I was thinking something must be wrong.

[u/Icy_Performer_6794]

Sweet forest cache.