In the Byzantine empire, the walnut was considered a royal nut. The Germans called the walnut the Welsh nut, and in Poland, for a long time, the little hard-shelled tree nut was known as the Italian nut. Plinius the Elder, in turn, claimed that the walnut trees in Greece came from Persia. This nut, however, was found in France, and, unlike its international counterparts, never carried fruit. Rather, it may have contained jewellery – a truly royal purpose for a royal nut.