Black walnut, Eastern black walnut
Juglans nigra

Family: Juglandaceae

What it is like

A tall deciduous tree. It grows up to 30 m high. It has a large crown. The trunk can be 120 cm across. The trunk is straight and the crown open. The leaves are alternate and there are 14-22 leaflets then a leaflet at the end. The end leaflet is often small. The leaves are 20-60 cm long. They are yellowish-green above and slightly hairy underneath. The flowers are separately male and female. The male pollen flowers are in catkins 5-10 cm long. The seed flowers are in erect clusters of 1-4. The husk is slightly hairy. The fruit are round and 4-6 cm across. They occur in drooping clusters of 1-3. The kernel has deep grooves. It is strongly flavoured and oily.

There are about 30 Juglans species. All species bear edible nuts.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It is native to C. & E. United States. It prefers deep, well-drained fertile soils. It cannot tolerate shade. It suits hardiness zones 4-10. Arboretum Tasmania.

Countries/locations it is found in

Australia, Azerbaijan, Britain, Canada, Caucasus, Central Asia, Denmark, Europe, Mexico, North America, Romania, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Tasmania, USA

How it is used for food

The kernels are used for flavouring. They are used in pastries, confectionary, ice cream, cakes, pies, and muffins. The seeds yiled and oil used to flavour bread, and other foods. The sweet sap can be made into syrup or sugar.

It is cultivated.

Edible parts

Nuts, seeds, seeds-oil, sap - syrup

How it is grown

Nuts need cold treatment before planting. Although trees are self fertile, male and female flowering may not overlap. A range of varieties or several trees improve this. Because the tap root is easily damaged it does not transplant easily.

Trees produce nuts in 5-8 years. Heavy crops are normally produced every 2-3 years. Production can continue to 400 years.

Its other names

Local names

črni oreh

Synonyms

Wallia nigra (L.) Alef.;