{"id":21193,"date":"2023-03-07T09:28:09","date_gmt":"2023-03-07T13:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=21193"},"modified":"2025-11-06T14:31:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T18:31:00","slug":"intro-to-trees-of-indiana-black-walnut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/intro-to-trees-of-indiana-black-walnut\/","title":{"rendered":"Intro to Trees of Indiana: Black Walnut"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0full publication<\/a>\u00a0is available for download for $7 in the Purdue Extension Education Store. The field guide helps identify common Indiana woodlot trees.<\/p>\n

Each week, the Intro to\u00a0Trees of Indiana web\u00a0series will offer a sneak peek at one species from the book, paired with an\u00a0ID That Tree video from Purdue Extension forester\u00a0Lenny Farlee<\/a> to help visualize each\u00a0species as it stands in the woods.\u00a0Threats to species\u00a0health\u00a0as well as\u00a0also\u00a0insight into the wood provided by the species, will be provided\u00a0through additional resources as well as the\u00a0Hardwoods of the Central Midwest<\/a>\u00a0exhibit of the Purdue Arboretum, if available. \"Drawing<\/a><\/p>\n

This week, we meet Black walnut or\u00a0Juglans nigra<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Also known as American black walnut or eastern black walnut, this species has compound leaves with several pairs of leaflets along the individual leaf stems. The leaves, which are arranged alternately on the twigs, can be between one to two feet long. They are green in summer and turn yellow in the fall. The terminal and lateral buds are fuzzy and tan and can resemble suede.<\/p>\n

The bark has long, strong running ridges and in older trees can resemble alligator hide. Under the surface of the bark is a dark, chocolate brown color.<\/p>\n

Black walnut trees produce nuts, which are ridged and rounded with very heavy shells. Nuts are encased in\u00a0a thick yellow-green husk, which can leave a dark brown stain on skin. The nut shells require a heavy hammer hit or sharp animal teeth or claws to break open. The nut meat has a very strong aromatic flavor.<\/p>\n

Black walnuts, which grow 50 to 75 feet tall, prefer to grow in sunshine and in high quality soils that are deep and well-drained. This species is often found as one of the tallest in the woodlands where they grow. The best quality trees are frequently found on flood free ledges just above stream banks. This species will live on poorer soils, but growth is slow and the wood quality is generally poor.<\/p>\n

The natural range of the black walnut is the from the east coast west through the Great Plains. It ranges from Texas and Georgia north to central Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and southern Ontario.<\/p>\n