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Parks & Recreation

Black Walnut

Common Name:   Black walnut

Scientific Name: Juglans nigra

Location: McNeilly Park

Size: 32” diameter at breast height

Map of where Black walnut, Juglans nigra is located

Native to:  Eastern and Southeastern U.S.

This tree typically grows to: 75 feet tall and wide.

This tree prefers these conditions: Open slopes and bottomlands, woodland edges, in full sun with medium moisture.

Special about this tree:  

  • An open, spreading shade tree.
  • Foliage is compound leaves, each with 15-23 leaflets
  • The large, sturdy trunk produces beautiful hardwood, but the tree is slow-growing.
  • Nuts are encased in rough outer shells that turn from green to brown to black in fall. The nut meats are hard to remove from the shell, but are edible.
  • Bark is rough, dark and deeply furrowed in diamond patterns.
  • Roots produce chemicals that are toxic to many other plants, a means the tree has to keep competitors away.