Click on the images to help you identify a black walnut.
Form
Height is 50 to 60 feet but can often reach 100 feet with a trunk diameter up to 36 inches. Trunk is straight and clear of branches for half its height. When grown in the open, the tree has shorter trunks and a broad and spreading crown.
Bark
Bark is thick and very dark brown, divided by deep fissures into round ridges.
Leaf
Leaves appear alternate on stem and are 12 to 24 inches long, pinnately compound with 14 to 22 yellowish green, sharply pointed leaflets, tapered at the ends and toothed along the margins. Leaflets are smooth above, pale and hairy underneath. Color is yellowish green turning yellow in autumn.
Fruit (seed)
A large, round nut borne single or in pairs and enclosed in a pungent-smelling, solid green husk that is not sticky and stays closed even after the nut is ripe. The nut is black with a tough, thick, finely ridged shell enclosing a rich, oily kernel that is edible and highly nutritious. 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
The rich chocolate-brown heartwood is of superior quality and value. 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 of light-colored sapwood that is not durable. Roots produce a natural herbicide that is toxic to many plants.