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BUTTERNUT
BUTTERNUT (Juglans cinerea)
The bark of young trees and of the branches is gray. On old trees, it is broadly ridged on the trunk and of a light brown color. The leaves are compound, alternate, 15-30 inches long, and consist of 11-17 leaflets. Margin of leaflets is serrate. The fruit is composed of a nut enclosed by a fleshy husk covered with sticky hairs. It is about 2 1/2 inches long and ellipsoid in shape. Fruit is produced in drooping clusters of 3-5. The nut is thick-shelled with sharp ridges on the surface. Indians used the oil from the nuts for making butter. The twigs are stout, greenish and hairy, with chocolate-brown, chambered pith. The large leaf scars have a conspicuous, buff-colored, hairy pad at the top. Buds are also hairy. The wood is coarse-grained, light, soft, and weak. It is sometimes used for furniture and cabinet work, and takes a high polish. Black Walnut (Juglans nigra), Japanese Walnut (Juglans sieboldiana), and Japanese Heart-nut (Juglans sieboldiana var. cordiform) are planted occasionally. The last two have escaped readily at Brunswick and are hardy. |
Butternut
occurs naturally to some extent or in cultivation over most of the state.
It grows on rich, moist soil and on rocky hills, especially along fence
rows. It frequently has stout, spreading limbs, extending horizontally
from the trunk to form a low, broad, rounded head. It is a tree 30-40 feet
high and has a diameter of 1-2 feet.