Black Walnut

Black Walnut     Juglans nigra L.

Mature Size: 50 to 90 feet in height, 2 to 3 feet in diameter

Form: Straight, clear trunk; narrow crown; thick twigs and branches.  

Where to Find Them: Deep, well-drained soils; grows best in rich bottomlands, moist coves and stream sides; grows best on the lower north- or east-facing slopes.

Leaves: Alternate, pinnately-compound, 12 to 24 inches long, with 10 to 24 sharply oval, finely toothed, long-pointed leaflets 3 to 31⁄2 inches long; bright, clear yellow in autumn.

Fruit: Round, 2 to 21⁄2 inches across, with a thick, green, non-splitting husk; nut inside is furrowed and hard; matures in late summer to fall.

Wildlife Use: Squirrels, birds and people eat the sweet, oily nuts. Sapsuckers drill rows of holes to feed on the sap. Mice and rabbits eat the bark of young trees, and deer browse on the buds.

Bark:  Dark brown to black; thick, ridged and furrowed with a deep diamond pattern.