Black walnut Juglans nigra is one of the most sought-after timber trees in the eastern forest. Its easily worked dark brown heart wood make it the all-time favorite of wood workers. Black walnut can be found in flooring, paneling, molding, furniture, vehicle and yacht trim work. Walnut lumber is steamed before kiln drying to darken the sapwood and give each board a more uniform color.

Black walnut nuts are popular food for wildlife and humans. Get them in the early summer or the meat can become bitter. The husk of the walnuts can be used to make a varity of dyes. Black walnuts are among a few other plants that are allelopathic, their roots emit biochemicals that deter or prevent other plants from growing well around them. So don’t plant your tomatoes near a black walnut!

Butternut Juglans cinerea some times called “white” walnut is a less common species in the walnut group. This species prefers cooler climates then black walnut. Both species have similar pinnately compound leaves and large fruits. The butternut fruit or nut, is oval shaped like a football, verse the round fruit of black walnut. Butternut husks can be used to make fabric dye as well, usually resulting in a yellowish to light brown color.

The wood from butternut is lighter in color then black walnut and should not be mixed together. It Due to the butternut canker, these trees are becoming harder to find in the wild. Efforts are being made to save the butternut, is easily cross breeds with Japanese walnut. These crossed species are then back crossed with other butternuts to produce verities resistant to the canker fungus.