Scientific Name: Juglans nigra
Common Name: black walnut
Native Range: Eastern United States
Zone: 4 to 9
Plant type & Form: Tree with an oval to rounded crown
Height: 75.00 to 100.00 feet
Spread: 75.00 to 100.00 feet
Bloom Time: May to June
Bloom Description: Yellow green monoecious flowers; the male flowers in drooping hairy catkins and the female flowers in short terminal spikes.
Bark: Fissured, sharply ridged, dark gray-black bark forms diamond patterns
Fruit: edible nuts, each being encased in a yellow-green husk. Nuts mature in autumn, falling to the ground where the husks blacken as they rot away. Kernels are edible but hard to extract
Leaf: odd-pinnate compound leaves (to 24” long), each with 13-23 oblong to lanceolate leaflets. The terminal leaflet is often missing. Fragrant when crushed.
Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium
Soil type & pH: Prefers moist, organically rich, well-drained soils
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Shade Tree
Tolerates: Rabbit, Drought
Notes: Black walnut roots produce chemicals called juglones which are very toxic to certain other plants such as azaleas, rhododendrons, blueberries, peonies and solanaceous crops (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes). Most of the toxicity is limited to within the drip line of the tree, but the area of toxicity typically increases outward as the tree matures.
Identification notes: Look for compound leaves with no terminal leaf.
