Butternut

The Butternut, often called White Walnut, is a North American native. Not a common tree, the Butternut has sticky buds, twigs and fruits....Read More The tree is sought mostly for the elongated nuts more than the wood as the nuts are rich in proteins, minerals, vitamins and antioxidant properties. The wood is used for interior trim and furniture. The tree seems fond of well drained, sandy soils in our area. I remember my grandmother cleaning Butternuts on the back porch to use in her baking recipes. A large Butternut tree grew in the back yard.

Compound leaves are 10 to 30" long with 7 to 19 leaflets and hairy on the underside. I found a very excellent specimen of this species ea...Read Morest of Newtown Square, PA, off Rt #3 in a yard of a18th century stome house that is surrounded by a large condominium complex. It looked so good without any brown leaf or twig damage by a canker disease called Sirococcus that a botanist thought it might really be the Japanese Butternut or a hybrid Japanese x American Butternut that are resistant to this disease that can be devastating. In June 2015 I saw several American Butternuts at Morton Arboretum that all looked good without any great damage to them. also. It is a handsome tree, though I know it will be messy like other walnuts in a residential yard. It is not found most everywhere in its native range from southeast MN to north MS & AL to New England and a little of se Canada, like its big brother the Black Walnut that is so common and widespread in its similar but slightly bigger native range. It is fast growing, about 2 to 3 feet/year and lives about 75 to 100 years.

Great shade tree that is declining because of butternut canker. Very fast grower, beautiful foliage, good crop of butternuts in fall. T...Read Morehis summer I saw almost 5 feet of growth from my 2nd year butternut!