HLC-14
Back >>
Butternut (Juglans cinerea)
Common Name: Butternut
Scientific Name: Juglans cinerea
Other Names: White walnut, Lemon walnut, Oilnut.
Leaf: Deciduous; alternate; compound; 11-17 stalkless leaflets; short hairy stem,
30-6- cm long; yellowish-green and rough above, paler and densely hairy below; sticky
when young; leaflets progressively smaller towards the base.
Flower: male and female flowers on the same tree; pollen flowers, 8-12 stamens in
catkins 6-14 cm long; seed flowers in clusters of 4-7, erect.
Fruit: 5-8 cm long, drooping clusters of 1-5; elongated, pointed, lemon shaped;
dense sticky hairs on husk; sweet oily kernel; nut shell with irregular jagged ridges.
Twig: Orange yellow; hairy; stout; pith is reddish-brown.
Bark: Light grey; smooth when young; ridged and grooved with narrow shallow dark
fissures and wide irregular flat-topped intersecting ridges when mature.
Wood: Soft; light; weak; reddish-brown; coarse grained.
Facts About This Tree:
1. The leaves, nuts, and bark of the Butternut contain toxins that inhibit the growth
of other plants.
2. Butternut populations are decreasing because of a blight introduced from Europe
which results in cankers growing on the tree.
3. Butternuts live to be about 80 years old with seed production beginning at 20 years.
Optimum seed production takes place between 30-60 years of age, and good crops are
produced every 2-3 years.
4. Butternut wood has been used to make furniture, cabinets, wall panels and trims,
and instrument cases.
5. Butternut fruit has been used in New England to make maple-butternut candy.
Lat, Long: 43.73756, -79.78858
Diameter (DBH): 29 cm
Last Year Modified: 2015
Carbon Stored in this Tree: 187.11 kg of C
Equivalent CO2: 686.002 kg of C
Find more trees in Heart Lake Conservation Area.
Reference
1. Kershaw, Linda. 2001. Trees of Ontario. Edmonton, AB Canada. Lone Pine Publishing.
2. Farrar, J. L. 2007. Trees in Canada. ON. Canadian Forest Service.
3. Nesom, Guy. N.D. Plant Guide Butternut. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Retrieved on June 22, 2015 from http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_juci.pdf.
4. Photo Credit: Steven Katovich, USDA Forest Service [CC BY 3.0 us
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons.
5. Photo Credit: Kristjan (memfarita en Forstbotanischer Garten Erbsland)
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
6. Photo Credit: Modal Jig (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
7. Photo Credit: Illustratedjc (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
8. Photo Credit: ValerieZinger. 2010. Butternut Tree 2. Retrieved on June 22, 2015 from
https://www.flickr.com.
Copyright 2015 Association for Canadian Educational Resources
There are woodchucks living in the Heart Lake Conservation Area. In the summer they can often be seen sunning themselves and eating grass. The winter they are in their burrows hibernating.
