 Hickory nuts ("Carya") and walnuts ("Juglans") in the Juglandaceae family grow within an outer husk; these fruits are technically drupes or drupaceous nuts, thus are not true botanical nuts.Many drupes, with their sweet, fleshy outer layer, attract the attention of animals as a food, and the plant population benefits from the resulting dispersal of its seeds.The endocarp (pit or stone) is sometimes dropped after the fleshy part is eaten, but is often swallowed, passing through the digestive tract, and returned to the soil in feces with the seed inside unharmed.