Juglans cinerea

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Butternut
A mature Butternut tree
Conservation status
See text
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fagales Family: Juglandaceae Genus: Juglans Species: J. cinerea
Binomial name
Juglans cinerea L.

Juglans cinerea, commonly known as Butternut or White Walnut,^[1] is a species of walnut native to the eastern United States and southeast Canada, from southern Quebec west to Minnesota, south to northern Alabama and southwest to northern Arkansas.^[2] It is absent from most of the Southern United States.^[3] It is a deciduous tree growing to 20 m tall, rarely 30 m, and 40-80 cm stem diameter, with light gray bark. The leaves are pinnate, 40-70 cm long, with 11-17 leaflets, each leaflet 5-10 cm long and 3-5 cm broad. The whole leaf is downy-pubescent, and a somewhat brighter, yellower green than many other tree leaves. The flowers are inconspicuous yellow-green catkins produced in spring at the same time as the new leaves appear. The fruit is a nut, produced in bunches of 2-6 together; the nut is oblong-ovoid, 3-6 cm long and 2-4 cm broad, surrounded by a green husk before maturity in mid autumn. Butternut grows quickly, but is rather short-lived for a tree, rarely living longer than 75 years.

The Butternut is seriously threatened by an introduced canker disease, caused by the fungus Sirococcus clavigignenti-juglandacearum. In some areas, 90% of the Butternut trees have been killed. Completely free-standing trees seem better able to withstand the fungus than those growing in dense stands or forest. The fungus is spread by a wide-ranging vector, so isolation of a tree offers no protection.

The species is not listed as threatened federally or internationally, but is listed as "Special Concern" in Kentucky, "Exploitably Vulnerable" in New York State, and "Threatened" in Tennessee.^[4]

[edit] Uses

The nuts are usually used in baking and making candies, having an oily texture and pleasant flavor.

Butternut wood is light in weight and takes polish well, is highly rot resistant, but is much softer than Black Walnut wood. Oiled, the grain of the wood usually shows much light. It is often used to make furniture, and is a favorite of woodcarvers.

Butternut bark and nut rinds were once often used to dye cloth to colors between light yellow^[5] and dark brown^[6]. To produce the darker colors, the bark is boiled to concentrate the color. This appears to never have been used as a commercial dye, but rather was used to color homespun cloth.

During the American Civil War, the term "butternut" was sometimes applied to Confederate soldiers. Some Confederate uniforms faded from gray to a tan or light brown color. It is also possible that butternut was used to color the cloth worn by a very small number of Confederate Soldiers.^[7] The resemblance of the tan colored uniforms to butternut-dyed clothing, and the association of butternut dye with home-made clothing, resulted in this derisive nickname.

Butternut bark has mild cathartic properties and was once used medicinally in place of jalap, a more expensive cathartic which was imported from Mexico. During the American Revolution, a butternut extract made from the inner bark of the tree was used to prevent smallpox, and to treat dysentery and other stomach and intestinal discomfort.^[8]

[edit] References