A big tree whose crushed leaves smell of polish and whose winter twigs show horseshoe-shaped leaf scars
Common walnut.
Nature · Trees
Common walnut
Introduced, naturalised in lowland Britain · deciduous, to 35 m · parks, hedgerows and river banks
Juglans regia — Juglandaceae
The common or English walnut is a broad-crowned, aromatic tree native from south-east Europe to south-west China, planted for its nuts and later its timber. It has naturalised in lowland Britain, helped by hoarding squirrels. Crushed leaves smell like polish, and winter twigs have horseshoe-shaped leaf scars.
How to know it
How to spot them
- ▸Shiny pinnate leaves with five to nine paired leaflets and one terminal leaflet, untoothed and oval
- ▸Crushed leaves smell of polish
- ▸Smooth olive-brown bark, silver-grey and fissured with age
- ▸Stout green curved twigs with horseshoe-shaped leaf scars and chambered pith
- ▸Green fleshy husk around the wrinkled nut; male catkins 5–10 cm
How to know it
A pinnate leaf with untoothed oval leaflets and one at the tip, unlike an elder's opposite toothed leaflets
Common walnut.
Its genus name comes from Jovis glans, meaning Jupiter's nut, and its epithet means royal
Common walnut (Juglans regia).
Spread through lowland Britain partly by hoarding squirrels, and native from south-east Europe to south-west China
Common walnut.
Its timber has a decorative wavy grain and its nuts a green fleshy husk
Common walnut.
Vulnerable to a blight that produces small black spots on the leaflets
Common walnut.
Quick-fire facts
- •Juglans regia: regia means royal; Juglans is believed to derive from Jovis glans, Jupiter's nut
- •Woodland Trust: native from south-east Europe to south-west China
- •It has naturalised in lowland Britain, helped by hoarding squirrels
- •Crushed leaves smell like polish
- •Winter identification: unsegmented pith and horseshoe-shaped leaf scars
- •Elder leaves are opposite; walnut leaves are alternate
- •Black walnut has more leaflets, which are toothed
- •Timber is fine with decorative wavy grain; nuts eaten by mice and squirrels
- •Susceptible to walnut blight and walnut-leaf blotch
Drill it — 7 cards
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Sources
- Woodland Trust — Walnut (Juglans regia)