Bark gray, ridges smooth; upper part of leaf-scar of last
year's twigs with a mat of hairs; pith dark-brown;
fruit oblong, husk clammy 1 J. cinerea.
Bark dark brown, ridges rough; upper part of leaf-scar of
last year's twigs without a mat of hairs; pith light
brown; fruit orbicular to slightly elongate, husk not
clammy 2 J. nigra.
=1.= =Juglans cinèrea= Linnæus. Butternut. Plate 20. A medium sized
tree, usually less than 6 dm. in diameter; leaf-scars with upper margin
convex or rarely notched; leaves 3-6 dm. in length; leaflets 7-19, the
middle pairs the longest, clammy, almost sessile, oblong-lanceolate,
6-12 cm. long, fine serrate, rounded at base and acuminate at apex;
flowers in May or June; fruit ripens in October, 4-8 cm. long with 4
prominent longitudinal ridges; kernel sweet and very oily; wood light,
soft, not strong, coarse-grained but takes a good polish.
=Distribution.=--Valley of the St. Lawrence River south to the Gulf
States and west to Nebraska. Found in all parts of Indiana, although
very sparingly in some counties. It is an infrequent tree in our range,
and in only a few localities is it frequent or common. It is found along
streams and in ravines, and in two instances it has been noted in old
tamarack marshes. It prefers a well drained gravelly soil, and is rarely
if ever found in a compact soil.
Thrifty trees of any size in the woodland are now rarely seen. The tops
of the larger trees are usually found in a more or less dying condition.
Benedict and Elrod[13] as early as 1892 make the following observation
in a catalogue of the plants of Cass and Wabash Counties: "A few
scrubby, half dead trees were seen, the last of their race. It seems
unable to adapt itself to new conditions, and is rapidly dying out."
=Remarks.=--This tree is often called the white walnut to distinguish it
from the black walnut from which it is easily separated. It is too rare
in Indiana to be of economic importance, except that trees growing in
the open are spared for the nut crop. Trees growing in the open develop
a short trunk with a wide spreading top and are apparently much
healthier than when grown under forest conditions. The bark of the root
is used in medicine as a hepatic stimulant.
[Illustration: Plate 20.