Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Juglans nigra
FAMILY
Juglandaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Black Walnut at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
The dark brown wood is one of the most prized of North American hardwoods. The nuts, though difficult to crack, are prized for their intense flavor. The husk is used as a dye. Country people dehusk the nuts by putting them in dirt or gravel driveways where the passage of car tires removes the husk but does not crack the nut, per Weakley's Flora (2022)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Juglans nigra
FAMILY
Juglandaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Juglans nigra
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Juglans nigra
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 053-01-001:
Juglans nigra FAMILY Juglandaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Wallia nigra
COMMON NAME:
Black Walnut
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux dcp34_p23
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JK Marlow jkm191222_2365_j_nigra
Clay County AL
Cheaha State Park
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Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_203
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_juni_001_lvd
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_juni_010_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm210209_8733
February Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
Lateral buds often superposed, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_juglans_nigra_2
March
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JK Marlow s050316_c
March Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Leaf scars alternate; terminal bud present, scaled; superposed buds present.
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Sam Pratt sbp_20140324_111419
March Spartanburg County SC
With age, bark becomes thick, dark, fissured and ridged, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
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JK Marlow jkm070506_115
May Gaston County NC
Redlair Farms
Husks can be removed by driving over the nuts on a dirt driveway, per Weakley's Flora.
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JK Marlow jkm210507_0014
May Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
Leaf scars large, slightly heart-shaped; lateral buds usually superposed, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
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JK Marlow jkm210507_0016
May Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_juglans_nigra_4
May MA
Arnold Arboretum
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Gill Newberry gn06_j_nigra_large_tree
June
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Gill Newberry gn06_j_nigra_leaf_pattern
June
)
JK Marlow jkm070622_002
June Greenville County SC
Bunched Arrowhead Heritage Preserve
Fruit a nut encased in a juicy, aromatic, green or black seamless husk, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
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JK Marlow jkm070622_004
June Greenville County SC
Bunched Arrowhead Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm080616_027
June Oconee County SC
Leaves aromatic when rubbed; with 15-23 leaflets, terminal one often absent, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm060805_077
August Haywood County NC
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Roots produce juglone, which inhibits the growth of neighboring plants, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
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Steve Marlow snm_0118
August Greenville County SC
Furman University
The pith of Juglans is chambered [whereas that of Carya is homogenous], per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_juglans_nigra
September
Fruit a nut encased in a juicy, aromatic, green or black seamless husk, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm101024_681
October Pickens County SC
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JK Marlow jkm121007_410
October Wythe County VA
New River Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm231023_6162
October Greenville County SC
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_juglans_nigra_1
October
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Juglans nigra
FAMILY
Juglandaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Juglans nigra
FAMILY
Juglandaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Juglans nigra
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Juglans nigra
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 053-01-001:
Juglans nigra
FAMILY
Juglandaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Wallia nigra
772
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: Moist, nutrient-rich forests of floodplains and slopes, calcareous hammocks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon in Coastal Plain of GA & SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Pinnately compound: 15-23 leaflets (terminal leaflet often absent)
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring
Staminate calyx 3-6 lobed, pistillate calyx 4-parted
Inferior ovary
Unisexual
Staminate flowers in elongate pendulous catkins
FRUIT:
Fall
Drupaceous nut
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p294
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p286
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p425
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p384
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p130
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p225
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p183
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p064
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p11
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p240
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p180
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