Black Walnut

Black walnut’s coloring ranges from pale brown to dark brown, occasionally having a faint grey or reddish cast. Figured grain patterns, including burl, curl, and crotch are common.

Black walnut is an immensely popular wood among North American woodworkers. Its easy workability combined with its rich coloration puts it in a class by itself among temperate zone hardwoods. It has good strength properties, dimensional stability, and shock resistance. It is commonly used to make furniture, cabinetry, gunstocks, interior paneling, flooring, paddles, coffins, turned items, and a variety of other wood products.

The Romans associated the walnut tree with Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage and the wife of Jupiter. This association led to the unique wedding practice of throwing walnuts at the bride and groom as a symbol of fertility. Ancient Roman women often carried walnuts to promote fertility.

The black walnut (Juglans nigra) is native to eastern North America, growing from northern Florida to southern Ontario. It can grow to over 100 feet tall, with the largest specimens growing enormous trunks of up to 10 feet wide.

The black walnut tree has had a variety of uses throughout history. The nuts were eaten raw, or crushed into a flour and added to cakes. Several Native American tribes used various parts of the black walnut as medicine. Tea from the bark was used as an emetic, cathartic, and as a remedy for disease; crushed leaves were used to treat ringworm, and as an insecticide to rappel fleas. Various parts of the tree were used to produce dye, including the drupes, which produce an excellent dark dye.