Butternut

Scientific name: Juglans cinerea

Family: Juglandaceae (Walnut family)

This slow-growing native tree, also known as white walnut, can be found throughout Ohio. Its kernel within the fruit gives it the common name of butternut, as it is sweet and very oily. Native Americans reportedly boiled the kernels to extract the oil, which was then used like butter. The kernels were also pickled in vinegar by early settlers. Nuts are still prized for their buttery taste and used for baking, confections, and fresh eating. Its light and soft wood is pinkish tan in color when split and is used for furniture and veneer. Butternut prefers deep, moist, rich, well-drained soils under sunny conditions, especially the bottomlands of rivers and creeks. Butternut canker has greatly reduced the tree’s natural occurrence.

Identification

LEAF: Alternate, pinnately compound leaflets 15-25 inches in length, nine to 19 leaflets, and present terminal leaflet. Leaves are pungent when bruised, and their rachis and petioles are covered with sticky hairs. The fall color is yellow but usually insignificant. Leaves may drop prematurely due to summer drought.

TWIGS AND BUDS: Twigs are greenish-gray to tan, stout with obvious hairiness, and have a dark brown chambered pith.

FRUIT OR SEED: Yellow-green sticky husk, oblong in shape (egg-shaped), usually maturing in summer and containing an oval, light brown, creased nut. The nut kernel is oily, sweet, and edible. Nuts are consumed most commonly by squirrels.

BARK: Light, ashy to silvery gray, smooth when young, and developing flat-topped shiny ridges and deep furrows with age.

SHAPE: Round-topped

MATURE HEIGHT: 40-60 feet.

Photo credits: Steven Baskauf, Arieh Tal (https://botphoto.info), Frank Bramley (© 2024 Native Plant Trust), Ayotte Gilles.