Latin (group) name: Juglans |
Latin (specific) name: Juglans Nigra Linnaeus |
Average max height: 100' |
Average diameter: Up to 3' |
Official state tree: none |
Category: American Woods The Hardwoods - Broadleafs |
The Tree
The Black Walnut tree is one of the best known and most valuable of all forest trees native to the United States. It is of value not only because of its beautiful and highly prized wood but for its delicious nuts used in foods such as candy, bread, cakes, and ice cream. It is strictly an American tree, growing naturally nowhere else. It has been proposed frequently as our national tree and has been known for generations as the “tree of the gods and kings.” In 1945 a Black Walnut tree in Kentucky was sold alive for $1,500 and was cut up into veneers worth $35,000. The stumps of some large trees have been sold at fabulous prices for use as veneers. Black Walnut is usually a well-shaped tree of moderately rapid growth for a hardwood, and attains large size. It is not uncommon to find walnut trees 100 feet tall and three feet in diameter. The tree requires deep, rich, moist, but well drained soils. The bark is dark and rather deeply grooved. The leaves are one to two feet long, and have 15 to 23 narrow, sharply-toothed, slender-pointed leaflets. The nuts, which are one and one-eighth to one and one-half inches in diameter, have a very hard deeply grooved shell encased in a ball-like hull, from one and one-half to two inches in diameter, consisting of a black, thick pulp having a mottled, light green covering. The nuts within the pulp must be removed with care as the pulp stains everything it touches and is difficult to remove before it is thoroughly dried. A yellow dye is made from the bark, and husks of the nuts.
Common Names in Use
- Black Walnut (N.H., Vt., Mass. R.I., Conn., N.Y., N.J., Del., Pa., Va., W.Va., N.C., Tenn., Ga., Fla., Ala., Miss., Tex., La., Ark., Ky., Mo., Ind., Ill., Kans., Nebr., Iowa, Mich., Ohio, S.Dak., Minn., Ontario)
- American Black Walnut (trade)
- American Walnut (trade)
- Dent-soo-kwa-no-ne "Round Nut" (N.Y. Indians)
- Gun-Wood (trade)
- Walnut (N.Y., Del., W.Va., Fla., Ky., Tenn., Mo., Ohio, Ind., Iowa)
- Walnut-tree (Pa., S.C.)
Growth Range
The natural growth range of Black Walnut extends from Massachusetts to southern Ontario and central Nebraska southward throughout the eastern half of the United States, excepting the Atlantic coastal plain south of Virginia, the Gulf coast region, and the lower Mississippi Valley. It attains its best growth in the central portion of this range in deep, rich, moist and well-drained soils.
The Wood
The Black Walnut heartwood varies somewhat from light to dark chocolate brown with frequent alternate light and almost black stripes which produce very beautiful figured effects. The narrow sapwood is nearly white with a narrow shading into the darker heartwood and gradually turns darker upon exposure. This wood is hard, strong, works well with tools and is one of the most desirable and useful of all American woods. The darker the wood the more valuable it is, and for this reason it is a quite frequent practice to stain or steam the sapwood to match the heartwood. Also, the stain is sometimes forced through the entire board to produce the more valuable deep dark brown color. The crotches, burls and stumps produce exceptional figured and mottled designs and are very valuable for high quality veneers. The knots, crooks, irregular growth and curly or wavy grain, especially near the knots, produce handsome figures. In the burls of old mature trees the bird’s-eye effect on a glossy jet black to lighter shades of brown is frequently found. The wood finishes to a pleasing velvety sheen, glues satisfactorily, and polishes exceptionally well with all types of paint, stain, wax or other finishingmaterials. It holds its shape, and after being seasoned, shrinks or swells very little.
Uses
Black Walnut is superior to all other woods for gun stocks because it keeps its shape, is comparatively light in weight, and absorbs recoil the best of all woods. The most important use of the lumber and of the beautiful figured veneers is in furniture, radio and television cabinets, sewing machines, wooden novelties and general mill-work. It is an especially desirable wood to work with all kinds of tools, and is a favorite wood in all Home Work Shops and Manual Training Schools. Walnut wood is so valuable that it is mainly cut into veneers. It is No.1 on the wood list of every woodworking shop.
File References
ID | T | Name | Size | Last modified | Actions | ||
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466 | Juglans Nigra (Linnaeus) The National Champion Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) on Sauvie Island, Oregon. Reference: "File:Sauvie island black walnut.JPG." Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. 15 Mar 2015, 23:45 UTC. 2 Nov 2019, 14:56 . Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sauvie_island_black_walnut.JPG |
336.98 KB | 11-02-2019 | ||||
467 | Black Walnut Range Map.png Range map of the Black Walnut Reference: "File:Juglans nigra range map 1.png." Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. 17 Nov 2016, 00:45 UTC. 2 Nov 2019, 15:45 . Attribution: Elbert Little, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, and others [Public domain] |
218.34 KB | 11-02-2019 | ||||
464 | Black Walnut Foliage And Nuts Black Walnut with leaves and nuts. Reference: Free Images : Forest, Branch, Fruit, Sunlight, Leaf, Flower, Food, Green, Jungle, Produce, Autumn, Botany, Garden, Flora, Shrub, Rainforest, Fruits, Deciduous, Timber, Edible, Ornamental Tree, Flowering Plant, Walnut Crop, Park Tree, Woody Plant, Land Plant, Plane Tree Family, Black Walnut, Juglandaceae, Juglans Nigra, Similar to Walnut 3264x2448 - - 1143896 - Free Stock Photos - PxHere. /en/photo/1143896. Accessed 2 Nov. 2019. |
633.50 KB | 11-02-2019 | ||||
465 | Black Walnut tree bark Black Walnut tree bark Reference: "File:Black Walnut Bark Detail.JPG." Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. 24 Dec 2018, 12:44 UTC. 2 Nov 2019, 14:47 . Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Black_Walnut_Bark_Detail.JPG |
579.01 KB | 11-02-2019 | ||||
468 | Page 100 Schoonover Black Walnut Grove in Indiana (page 100 of American Woods) Reference: Reference: Shelley E. Schoonover (American Woods) 1951 (Watling & Co. ) Santa Monica, CA |
581.87 KB | 11-03-2019 | ||||
469 | Page 102 Schoonover Black Walnut Curly and Fiddle-Back Figure (page 102 of American Woods) Reference: Reference: Shelley E. Schoonover (American Woods) 1951 (Watling & Co. ) Santa Monica, CA |
395.44 KB | 11-03-2019 | ||||
470 | Black Walnut Canoe A black walnut canoe during construction Reference: creativelenna. Wee Lassie Canoe Thwart -Black Walnut. 28 Apr. 2013. Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/creativelenna/8697833708/. |
188.26 KB | 11-03-2019 | ||||
471 | Black Walnut Card Box Black Walnut playing card storage box by Gerald Lawrence Reference: (n.d.). Home - The Patriot Woodworker. The Patriot Woodworker. Retrieved November 8, 2019, from https://thepatriotwoodworker.com/ |
372.03 KB | 11-08-2019 | ||||
472 | Black Walnut Cutting Boards Cutting boards with Black Walnut strips by Gerald Lawrence Reference: (n.d.). Home - The Patriot Woodworker. The Patriot Woodworker. Retrieved November 8, 2019, from https://thepatriotwoodworker.com/ |
48.53 KB | 11-08-2019 | ||||
473 | Black Walnut Dovetail Box Box with Black Walnut dovetailed sides by Gerald Lawrence Reference: (n.d.). Home - The Patriot Woodworker. The Patriot Woodworker. Retrieved November 8, 2019, from https://thepatriotwoodworker.com/ |
277.11 KB | 11-08-2019 | ||||
474 | Black Walnut Hollow Vessel Black Walnut hollow form by Gerald Lawrence Reference: (n.d.). Home - The Patriot Woodworker. The Patriot Woodworker. Retrieved November 8, 2019, from https://thepatriotwoodworker.com/ |
34.07 KB | 11-08-2019 | ||||
475 | Black Walnut Recipe Box Black Walnut recipe box by Gerald Lawrence Reference: (n.d.). Home - The Patriot Woodworker. The Patriot Woodworker. Retrieved November 8, 2019, from https://thepatriotwoodworker.com/ |
464.13 KB | 11-08-2019 | ||||
476 | Black Walnut Ring Boxes Black Walnut ring storage containers by Gerald Lawrence Reference: (n.d.). Home - The Patriot Woodworker. The Patriot Woodworker. Retrieved November 8, 2019, from https://thepatriotwoodworker.com/ |
177.65 KB | 11-08-2019 | ||||
477 | Black Walnut Bowl Black Walnut turned bowl by Lewis Kauffman Reference: (n.d.). Home - The Patriot Woodworker. The Patriot Woodworker. Retrieved November 8, 2019, from https://thepatriotwoodworker.com/ |
285.35 KB | 11-08-2019 | ||||
478 | Black Walnut Bowls A stack of Black Walnut bowls turned on a lathe by Lewis Kauffman Reference: (n.d.). Home - The Patriot Woodworker. The Patriot Woodworker. Retrieved November 8, 2019, from https://thepatriotwoodworker.com/ |
253.95 KB | 11-08-2019 | ||||
479 | Black Walnut Candle Box And Stands Black Walnut turned candle stands and storage box by Lew Kauffman Reference: (n.d.). Home - The Patriot Woodworker. The Patriot Woodworker. Retrieved November 8, 2019, from https://thepatriotwoodworker.com/ |
35.42 KB | 11-08-2019 | ||||
480 | Black Walnut Candle Box Black Walnut candle box with raised panel lid by Lew Kauffman Reference: (n.d.). Home - The Patriot Woodworker. The Patriot Woodworker. Retrieved November 8, 2019, from https://thepatriotwoodworker.com/ |
156.28 KB | 11-08-2019 | ||||
481 | Black Walnut Platter Black Walnut turned platter by Lewis Kauffman |
222.02 KB | 11-08-2019 | ||||
482 | Black Walnut Table Top Black Walnut table top by Lewis Kauffman Reference: (n.d.). Home - The Patriot Woodworker. The Patriot Woodworker. Retrieved November 8, 2019, from https://thepatriotwoodworker.com/ |
142.47 KB | 11-08-2019 | ||||
483 | Black Walnut Table Black Walnut table by Lewis Kauffman Reference: (n.d.). Home - The Patriot Woodworker. The Patriot Woodworker. Retrieved November 8, 2019, from https://thepatriotwoodworker.com/ |
39.21 KB | 11-08-2019 |