Shagbark hickory have very distinctive bark. I'm sure you can find the parent tree easily. FataMorgana Here is a link that might be useful: Shagbark fact sheet

Well I would try the permaculture approach. To begin with, it would help to get a timber type of chestnut. Hybrids with american chestnut would work like the ones Okios tree crops sells. 'Dustan' Chestnut might work as well. Then you plant pecan with the chestnuts. Space them out 15-20 feet apart. They will eventually form a forest with a canopy. AFter that you plant hazel nuts underneath them (go with the american hazelnut) since they can handle shade and are considered understory trees/shrubs. So in end you will have a nut forest. I would stay away from walnut since they produce toxins that can poison other trees. Almonds need sun but are short growing so they wouldnt do well in this "forest". You could try hickory, there are some good tasting variesties. Also beech would work;their nuts are high in fat.

Aloha Sandpounder, Lisa, Ilima and Farmfreedom, It is beginning to sound like pistachios might be the next nut tree I'll try in the back yard. The health food store sells them "raw" so I'll get a few and plant them and see if they sprout. Hmm, anybody know if they are a hybrid and if they self-pollinate? Thanks for the peanut idea, Ilima. When I finally get the official garden (it still needs a fence to keep out chickens and a hose bibb installed for watering) put together, then I will have a space for peanuts. Until then, maybe they could grow in the flower bed by the house? Do they take up a lot of room? Farmfreedom, those are some good ideas, however not all of them would work in Hawaii. We have difficulties getting things such as chestnuts, walnuts and filberts cold enough in the winter. Actually, there are a LOT of mainland plants and trees we don't have enough "chill hours" for. We can't get them cold enough for them to flower and set fruit. Most apples, peaches, pears and cherries can't be grown here. There are about three varieties of apple and peaches which can be grown, but we have to be really selective and get a "low chill" cultivar or they don't get enough chill hours. Peonies and lilacs are two more which don't survive, although I've ordered a "low chill" lilac which I hope will live and produce flowers. The Big Island of Hawaii has most of the climates available on the planet, but they are only in small spots on the island and no one spot has all the climates. I'm down near the ocean in an area with dirt and rain so it is a better growing area than most. However, I don't have the winter time cold and we do have some ferocious snails, insects, fungus and molds to deal with as well as the occasional nematode and those pesky chickens, too. A hui hou, Cathy

The nut looks like a black Walnut... I thought the fruit looked like passion fruit... but I always thought the seeds had color around them.