Unusual nut tree: ID much appreciated

Hello All

This unusual nut tree has me asking 'what exactly is it?'. Its healthy, lush and robust reaching some 10m or so tall and more than that wide courtesy of the multi trunks. Nut husks are very sticky but rubbed off easily. It has all the hallmarks of a Juglans but which one? I was told it was a black walnut (Juglans nigra), but everything about it says otherwise.

These nuts were harvested the other day. Tree seems to be self fertile as its the only nut tree in the neighbourhood (Qualicum).

Pics are of the bark; nut clusters in the tree; hulled, cleaned, cracked and last year's shell half.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

~Hammie

 

Juglans mandshurica?

 

Or Juglans ailantifolia (Japanese Walnut).

 

Thanks!

Manchurian walnut seems to fit the bill. I grubbed up some Juglans sieboldiana (aka ailantifolia?) shells and wanted to post them along side this newly harvested Juglans.

Those on the right are Japanese walnut and those on the left are newly ID-ed Manchurian. The shells of the Japanese are smooth though the cavity of both are very similar.

Thanks again.

I look forward in growing these!

~Hammie

 

There's actually quite a few Asian walnut trees in the region, sometimes quite large (See Van Pelt, Champion Trees of Washington State, 1996, University of Washington, Seattle, for some of the best examples here). Occupants of properties where prominent specimens are located tend to think they are butternuts or "white walnuts".

 

Yours seems to fit Japanese spot on. Pics I've just looked at of Manchurian suggest a more elongated oval/oblong nut. But there's a fair bit of individual variation in nut shape, some botanists treat Manchurian as just a variety or even synonym of Japanese.

 

Yes, I too would expect stereotypic Manchurian walnut to produce more elongate fruits.

 

Hello All

Thanks Ron for referring to Van Pelt's Champion Trees of Washington State. This and amongst others deserve space in my library. No sense getting a pristine copy as its going to be well used.

After much continued research, this article was stumbled upon: http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/issues/2009-66-4-Arnoldia.pdf

What is interesting is the pic (Figure 9) they have of Japanese walnuts and the diversity of shapes they come in from the classic 'heartnut' to some non heartnut forms growing at the National Clonal Germplasm Repository.

Of course this is just adding to the confusion/speculation.

One can only imagine the husk form for the elongated Japanese nut forms...perhaps the husk form provides a hint of what nut shape lies within.

My thanks again...

 

Another useful paper on walnuts here.

 

Thanks Michael

I will look at my pics and follow the key in the paper you provided. In the short glean of the article it sounds like the Asian Juglans are going through a big rethink. I've also squinted at GRIN pics of the accessions they have:

http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/stats/genus.pl?Juglans

Again highly variable.

I will approach this again with fresh eyes in the next few days.

Now any recommendations in how to efficiently clean a 5 gallon bucket worth of nuts? My husband wouldn't be pleased if I used the washing machine....

~Hammie