Click on the images to help you identify a black walnut.
Form
Height is 50 to 60 feet, but trees can often reach 100 feet, with a trunk diameter of up to 36 inches. The trunk is straight and clear of branches for about half its height. When grown in the open, the tree has shorter trunks and a broad, spreading crown.
Bark
Bark is thick and very dark brown, divided by deep fissures into rounded ridges.
Leaf
Leaves are alternate on the stem, 12 to 24 inches long, and pinnately compound with 14 to 22 yellowish-green, sharply pointed leaflets. Leaflets taper at the ends and are toothed along the margins, smooth above, and pale and hairy underneath. Leaves are yellowish green, turning yellow in autumn.
Fruit (seed)
Fruit is a large, round nut, borne singly or in pairs and enclosed in a pungent-smelling, solid green husk that is not sticky and remains closed when the nut is ripe. The nut is black, with a tough, thick, finely ridged shell enclosing a rich, oily, edible kernel. Nuts mature in the fall.
Range
Grows on rich bottomlands and moist, fertile hillsides in the southern part of the state. Easily propagated from nuts and grows rapidly in good soil. Shade-intolerant. Learn more with our black walnut in your yard video.
Wood uses
Heartwood is rich chocolate brown and of superior quality and value. The wood is heavy, hard, strong, durable, and comparatively free from warping and checking. It takes a high polish and is highly prized for furniture, gun stocks, and airplane propellers. The finest veneers are made from its burls and roots. Small trees contain mainly light-colored sapwood, which is not durable. Roots produce a natural herbicide that is toxic to many plants.