Juglans nigra aka Black Walnut

Juglans nigra, commonly known as the eastern American black walnut, is a deciduous tree belonging to the walnut family, Juglandaceae. Native to North America, it primarily grows in riparian zones, spanning from southern Ontario to southeast South Dakota, and from Georgia to central Texas, with possible isolated native populations in the upper Ottawa Valley. This commercially valuable tree is renowned for its deep brown, easily workable wood and its distinctively delicious nuts. Cultivated for both lumber and food, various cultivars have been developed to enhance the quality of the wood or nuts. However, black walnut trees have faced challenges from thousand cankers disease, resulting in a decline in some regions. The allelopathic nature of black walnut is popularly acknowledged, as it releases chemicals from its roots and other tissues that can be harmful to other organisms, providing the tree with a competitive advantage. However, there is no solid scientific consensus on whether allelopathic chemicals are the primary factor driving its competitive growth. This vigorous and large deciduous tree features a broad crown composed of large pinnate leaves, consisting of 15-21 lanceolate leaflets. It produces 10cm long male catkins and inconspicuous female flowers, which are followed by spherical green fruits measuring 5cm in width. Black walnut trees are characterized by their rugged appearance, reaching heights and widths of 50-75 ft., and sometimes even towering up to 150 ft. The trunk boasts dark, furrowed bark, while the wide-spreading branches create an upright, umbrella-like crown in wooded areas or a round-topped crown in open spaces. Typically, the trunk remains branchless for a significant distance. The leaves, which can grow up to 2 feet long, consist of 5 to 11 pairs of leaflets along a central axis, with a single leaflet at the tip. The lateral leaflets have an off-center midrib, with the wider part of the blade toward the leaf tip. Leaflets emerge late in spring, displaying a yellow-green hue, and during fall, they turn a clear yellow color, unless the tree has been affected by insects or leaf blight. Inconspicuous flowers are arranged in elongated green clusters, while the fruit comprises a hard-shelled, furrowed nut enclosed in a green husk that darkens when ripe.