VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Juglans nigra | Black Walnut 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Characteristics and properties:  Black walnut wood is heavy, strong, and
highly resistant to shock.  It ranks with the most durable U.S.
hardwoods, including cedars (Thuja spp.), chestnuts (Castanea spp.), and
black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia).  It can be satisfactorily kiln
dried and holds it shape well after seasoning.  Black walnut is normally
straight grained, is worked easily with hand tools, and has excellent
machining properties.  When finished, the wood takes on a smooth velvety
surface and a handsome grain pattern [25,29].

Principal uses:  Black walnut is used principally for dining room and
bedroom furniture; bookcases; desks; tables; radio, television,
phonograph, and piano cabinets; and as an interior finish in cafes and
public buildings [24].  The veneer is used for the highest grade
cabinets and plywood panels.  Figured black walnut stocks are prized for
expensive shotguns and sporting rifles [8,29].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
The nuts of black walnut furnish food for many rodents and make up about
10 percent of the diet of eastern fox squirrels [19,33].  The nuts are
also eaten by a variety of birds [2].


PALATABILITY : 
Although not considered a choice browse, black walnut leaves are
palatable to white-tailed deer [16].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Nutrient percentages (dry basis) for the nuts of black walnut are as
follows [41]:

crude protein          29.25
ether                  60.25
crude fiber             1.03
ash                     2.76
n-free extract          6.73
available protein      27.06
lignin                  0.87
cellulose               2.01
tannin                  0.25
calcium                 0.01
magnesium               0.27
phosphorus              0.59


COVER VALUE : 
The eastern screech-owl roosts on the limbs of black walnut [6].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Black walnut has been successfully planted on surface mined areas in the
eastern United States [4,7].  In southwestern Indiana, black walnut had
a 30 to 50 percent increase in survival rate on old mine field sites
where weed competition had been chemically controlled or removed [4].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
The nuts of black walnut are used as food by humans and are harvested
commercially [26].  The nuts are eaten plain or with honey and used to
flavor cakes, candy, and ice cream [14].  Native Americans used the nuts
for food and extracted black dye from the roots.  The black walnut is
mentioned in Native American creation myths [14].  Black walnut is
cultivated as an ornamental [40].

The ground shells of black walnut are used as a nonslip agent in
automobile tires, as an air pressure propellant in strip paints, and as
a filtering agent for scrubbers in smoke stacks.  The automobile
industry uses the ground shell products to deburr precision gears, and
the airline industry uses the ground shells to clean jet engines [43].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Weed control is essential for the establishment of black walnut on sites
suitable for intensive culture [31].

An antagonism between black walnut and many other plants growing within
its root zone has been recognized and attributed to juglone, a toxic
substance found in the leaves, bark, nut husks, and roots of black
walnut trees.  Many garden vegetables and several conifers are
susceptible to juglone [12,17,28].

Balck walnut is particularly susceptible to European canker (Nectria
galligena).  The infection spreads quite slowly, but infected trees
eventually die [29,43].

Black alder (Alnus glutinosa) and Russian olive (Elaeagus angustifolia)
interplanted with black walnut increases black walnut's yield because of
their ability to increase available nitrogen in the soil [37,44].

Related categories for Species: Juglans nigra | Black Walnut