102 



BUTTERNUT. 

 - ,-. : j ; Juglans cinerea, Linnaeus. 



1 FORM A small to medivin-sized tree usually attaining a height of 30-50 ft. with a diameter 



.of 1-jJ ft,., ,tut' may 'ref)'ch a freight of 80-100 ft. with a diameter of 3-4 feet. Trunk usualy short, 



"like " *Ffft df the s.p.^le', tree. Crown usually broad, deep, round-topped, rather open, often 

 nmsymmetrical.' 



BARK On branches and young trunks rather smooth, light gray; on older trunks roughened 

 by black fissures which separate wide, smooth, light gray ridges. Inner bark bitter, light in 

 color, becoming yellow on exposure. See Fig. 80. 



TWIGS Alternate, stout, round; at first hairy and sticky, later smooth; roughened by 

 leaf-scars, bitter to taste, greenish-gray to buff in color, covered with a few pale lenticels; 

 pith chambered, dark brown. If chewed, twigs and young bark color saliva yellow. 



BUDS Alternate, covered with dense pale down. Terminal bud J-3 of an inch long, flattened, 

 blunt-pointed with its outer scales lobed. Lateral buds smaller than terminal, ovate, very 

 blunt-pointed, often superposed. Scaly cone-like lateral buds often present. These are in 

 reality partially developed catkins. 



LEAVES Alternate, compound, 15-30 inches long, with 11-17 leaflets. Leaflets 3-5 inches long, 

 serrate on margin, acute at apex, unequally rounded at base and usually sessile or nearly so. 

 Petioles hairy and sticky. 



LEAF-SCARS Alternate, large, 3-lobed, concave, with raised margins, with 3 clusters of 

 bundle-scars arranged in a U-shaped line. Upper margin of leaf-scar usually convex, rarely 

 notched. 



FLOWERS Appear about May when leaves are half developed. Staminate and pistillate 

 flowers separate, but occur on the same tree and usually on the same branches. Staminate 

 arranged in nnbranched catkins, which become 3-5 inches long. Pistillate produced in 

 6-8-flowered spikes. 



FRUIT An elcngated-ovate sculptured nut covered with a fleshy indehiscent husk. Husk 

 very hairy and sticky. Nut four-ribbed, pointed at one end; contains a sweet edible and very 

 oily kernel. 



WOOD Diffuse-porous with ring-porcus tendency; with inconspicuous medullary rays; soft 

 not strong, light brown, and coarse-grained. Weighs 25.46 Ibs. per cubic foot. Used in 

 furniture, interior finishings, and occasionally in church altars, ceiling, and flooring. 



DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS The Butternut, also known as White Walnut and 

 Oilnut, resembles the Black Walnut, but is distinguished from it by its shorter and light- 

 barked trunk, dark brown pith, larger and more flattened terminal buds, lighter colored wood, 

 elongated-ovate fruit, unnotched upper margin of the leaf-scar with a hairy fringe above it. 



RANGE New Brunswick and Quebec, west to Minnesota, and south to Delaware and 

 Arkansas, and along the mountains to Georgia. 



DISTRIBUTION IN PENNSYLVANIA Local throughout the State in rich bottomlands and 

 on fertile hillsides. Very common locally in the southeastern and southern parts. 



HABITAT Prefers rich moist soil. Common along fences, streams, and roads. Occasionally 

 found on high mountains. 



IMPORTANCE OF THE SPECIES The Butternut can hardly be classified as a valuable timber 

 tree. It produces a beautiful wood and delicious nuts but the trees seldom reach a large 

 size. The old trees are very susceptible to the attack of wood-destroying fungi. The tree is 

 attractive ornamentally. It branches freely often forming many crooks and crotches which 

 yield the highly figured wood. 



