- Juglans cinerea
Taxobox
name = Butternut
status = text
image_caption = A mature Butternut tree
regnum =Plant ae
divisio =Magnoliophyta
classis =Magnoliopsida
ordo =Fagales
familia =Juglandaceae
genus = "Juglans"
species = "J. cinerea"
binomial = "Juglans cinerea"
binomial_authority = L."Juglans cinerea", commonly known as Butternut or White Walnut, [Snow, Charles Henry. [http://books.google.com/books?id=ZVMDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA56 "The Principal Species of Wood: Their Characteristic Properties"] . 2nd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1908. Page 56.] is a species of
walnut native to the eastern United States and southeastCanada , from southernQuebec west toMinnesota , south to northernAlabama and southwest to northernArkansas . [Sargent, Charles Sprague. [http://books.google.com/books?id=GJhOAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA76 "The Woods of the United States"] . New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1885. Page 238. Snow, cited above, says "New Brunswick to Georgia, westward to Dakota and Arkansas. Best in Ohio River Basin".] It is absent from most of theSouthern United States . [ cite web | url = http://esp.cr.usgs.gov/data/atlas/little/juglcine.pdf | title = "Juglans cinerea Range Map" | accessdate = 2008-03-06 | publisher =United States Geological Survey ] It is adeciduous tree growing to 20 m tall, rarely 30 m, and 40-80 cm stem diameter, with light graybark . The leaves arepinnate , 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. Theflower s are inconspicuous yellow-greencatkin s produced in spring at the same time as the new leaves appear. Thefruit 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 thefungus "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 in the US, but is listed as "Special Concern" in
Kentucky , "Exploitably Vulnerable" inNew York State , and "Threatened" inTennessee . [ [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=JUCI PLANTS Profile for Juglans cinerea (butternut) | USDA PLANTS ] ]The
Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada placed the Butternut on the endangered species list in Canada in 2005. http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/species/speciesDetails_e.cfm?sid=793Uses
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 makefurniture , and is a favorite of woodcarvers.Butternut bark and nut rinds were once often used to dye cloth to colors between light yellow [Snow, Charles Henry. "The Principal Species of Wood: Their Characteristic Properties". 2nd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1908. Page 56.] and dark brown [Saunders, Charles Francis. [http://books.google.com/books?id=A9dBAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA227 "Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada"] . New York: Robert M. McBride & Co., 1920. Page 227.] . 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. [Saunders, Charles Francis. "Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada". New York: Robert M. McBride & Co., 1920. Page 227.] 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 ofjalap , 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 preventsmallpox , and to treatdysentery and other stomach and intestinal discomfort. [Thatcher, James, M.D. [http://books.google.com/books?id=fHG1rHriGM0C&pg=PA251 "A Military Journal During the American Revolutionary War".] Boston: Cottons & Barnard, 1827. Page 251.]References
External links
* [http://www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=31 Set of Butternut ID photos and range map]
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