29 



IX. 



JUGLANDE^. 



THE WALNUT. 



JUG LANS. 



jfiiglans, " the nut of Jove," is cultivated in 

 Great Britain more as an ornamental tree, and for 

 the edible nuts it produces, than for the value of 

 its wood. J. rcgia, the royal or common walnut, 

 is not an indigenous tree ; its natural habitat 

 ranges from the Caucasus to the Himalayas. The 

 date of its introdudlion into these islands does 

 not appear to be known, but its susceptibility to 

 frost, and the inclination of the fruit not to ripen 

 as it proceeds North, rather suggests that its 

 naturalization has not been of a very lengthened 

 period. 



The leaves, which expand in May, are smooth 

 and slightly serrated, generally with seven leaflets 

 in pairs and a terminal leaflet ; they are first a 

 light bronze colour, and when fully developed, 

 turn a light yellowish green. The tree blossoms 

 in May, and the fruit ripens the following autumn. 

 It is a monoecious plant producing the sexes in 

 different flowers on the same individual. The 



