398 NEW ENGLAND TREES IN WINTER. 



BUTTERNUT 



Oilnut, White Walnut. 



Juglans cinerea L. 



HABIT A small to medium-sized tree 20-45 ft. in height, with 

 trunk diameter of 1-4 ft.; comparatively large for the height; soon 

 dividing into a few stout spreading branches with lower branches 

 somewhat drooping forming a symmetrical, broad, low, round-topped 

 head of inversely pyramidal outline. 



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

 trunks deeply divided into long, rather broad, flat-topped, whitish ridges 

 separated by smoothish, broader fissures, which are likewise gray or 

 frequently become black in striking contrast to the whitish ridges; inner 

 bark becoming yellow on exposure to air, bitter. 



TWIGS Stout, reddish-buff to greenish-gray, downy or nearly smooth, 

 round or somewhat angled from lobes of leaf-scars, bitter to taste, 

 and coloring saliva yellow when chewed. LENTICELS small, pale, 

 raised dots. PITH somewhat 5-pointed, star-shaped, dark brown, 

 chambered, the narrow chambers a little wider than the intervening 

 diaphragms. 



LEAF-SCARS Large, conspicuous, 3-lobed, inversely triangular; mar- 

 gins elevated, upper margin generally convex seldom slightly notched, 

 surmounted by a raised, downy pad. BUNDLE-SCARS dark, conspicu- 

 ous in 3 U-shaped clusters. 



BUDS Densely pale-downy; terminal buds large, conical-oblong, 10- 

 20 mm. long, longer than broad, flattened oblong to conical, obliquely 

 blunt-pointed; lateral buds smaller, ovate, rounded at apex, 1-3 super- 

 posed buds generally present above axillary bud, the uppermost the 

 largest, often far above the leaf-scar and more or less stalked or 

 developing into a twig the first season, especially on rapidly grown 

 shoots; staminate flower buds lateral, rather spherical, protruding the 

 undeveloped catkins like miniature scaly cones from the envelope of 

 short scales. BUD-SCALES thick, outer scales of terminal bud lobed 

 at apex. 



FRUIT Elongated, 4-10 cm. long, husk thickly covered with sticky 

 hairs, not regularly splitting. NUT light brown, elongated-ovate, 4- 

 ribbed, pointed, rough, deeply sculptured; within, 2-celled at base, 1- 

 celled above; seed sweet, edible, very oily, soon becoming rancid. 



COMPARISONS In twig characters the Butternut most nearly re- 

 sembles the Black Walnut but is easily distinguished from this species 

 (see Comparisons under Black Walnut). Its points of dissimilarity to 

 the Bitternut are given under this latter species. 



DISTRIBUTION Roadsides, rich woods, river valleys, fertile, moist 

 hillsides, high up on mountain slopes. New Brunswick, throughout 

 Quebec and eastern Ontario; south to Delaware, along the mountains 

 to Georgia and Alabama; west to Minnesota, Kansas, and Arkansas. 



IN NEW ENGLAND Maine, common, often abundant; New Hamp- 

 shire throughout the Connecticut valley, and along the Merrimac and 

 its tributaries, to the base of the White Mountains; Vermont frequent; 

 Massachusetts common in the eastern and central portions, frequent 

 westward; Rhode Island common. 



IN CONNECTICUT Frequent. 



WOOD Light, soft, not strong, coarse-grained, light brown, turning 

 darker with exposure, with thin, light-colored sapwood, composed of 5 

 or 6 layers of annual growth; largely employed in the interior finish 

 of houses and for furniture. The inner bark possesses mild cathartic 

 properties. Sugar is made from the sap and the green husks of the 

 fruit are used to dye cloth yellow or orange color. 



