264 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. 



TAVIGS — 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. 



liEAF-SCAKS — Large, conspicuous, 3-lobed, inversely triangular; mar- 

 gins elevated, upper margin generally convex, seldom slightly notched, 

 surrnounted 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 alDOve 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; Connecticut and Rhode Island — common. 



AVOOD — 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. 



