Part 26

FLOWERS.--May, with the leaves; monoecious; the staminate in cylindrical, greenish, drooping catkins 3-5 inches long; calyx 6-lobed, borne on a hairy bract; corolla 0; stamens 8-12, with brown anthers; the pistillate solitary or several on a common peduncle, about 1/3 inch long, their bracts and bractlets sticky-hairy; calyx 4-lobed, hairy; corolla 0; styles 2; stigmas 2, fringed, spreading, bright red.

FRUIT.--October; about 2-1/2 inches long, cylindrical, pointed, greenish, sticky-downy, solitary or borne in drooping clusters of 3-5; nuts with rough shells, inclosing a sweet, but oily kernel; edible.

WINTER-BUDS.--Terminal bud 1/2-3/4 inch long, oblong-conical, obliquely blunt, somewhat flattened, brownish, pubescent.

BARK.--Twigs orange-brown or bright green, rusty-pubescent, becoming smooth and light gray; gray and smoothish on young trunks, becoming brown on old trunks, narrow-ridged, with wide furrows.

WOOD.--Light, soft, weak, coarse-grained, light brown, with thin, lighter colored sapwood.

DISTRIBUTION.--Of common occurrence in the southern half of the Lower Peninsula.

HABITAT.--Prefers low, rich woods; river-banks; low hillsides.

NOTES.--Leaves appear late and fall early. Pith chambered, chocolate-brown. Large trees usually unsound. Not easily transplanted.

1. Winter twig, × 1. 2. Leaf, × 1/6. 3. Leaflet, × 1/2. 4. Flowering branchlet, × 1/2. 5. Staminate flower, back view, enlarged. 6. Pistillate flower, enlarged. 7. Fruit, × 1/2.]

+JUGLANDACEAE+

+Black Walnut+

Juglans nigra L.

HABIT.--A large tree 60-80 feet high, with a massive trunk 2-5 feet in diameter; forming an open, capacious crown of heavy branches and coarse branchlets.

LEAVES.--Alternate, compound, 1-2 feet long. Leaflets 13-23, the terminal often lacking, 2-4 inches long and one-half as broad; sessile; ovate-lanceolate, taper-pointed; sharp-serrate; thin; yellow-green and glabrous above, lighter and soft-pubescent beneath. Petioles stout, pubescent. Foliage aromatic when bruised.

FLOWERS.--May, with the leaves; monoecious; the staminate in cylindrical, greenish, drooping catkins 3-5 inches long; calyx 6-lobed, borne on a hairy bract; corolla 0; stamens numerous, with purple anthers; the pistillate solitary or several on a common peduncle, about 1/4 inch long, their bracts and bractlets hairy; calyx 4-lobed, pubescent; corolla 0; styles and stigmas 2.

FRUIT.--October; globose, 1-1/2-2 inches in diameter, smooth, not viscid; solitary or borne in clusters of 2-3; nuts with irregularly furrowed shell, inclosing a sweet, edible kernel.

WINTER-BUDS.--Terminal bud 1/3 inch long, ovoid, obliquely blunt, slightly flattened, silky-tomentose.

BARK.--Twigs brownish and hairy, becoming darker and smooth; thick, brownish or blackish on the trunk and deeply furrowed by broad, rounded ridges.

WOOD.--Heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, very durable in contact with the soil, rich dark brown, with thin, lighter colored sapwood.

DISTRIBUTION.--Lower Peninsula as far north as Bay City, but more abundant in the southern portion of its range.

HABITAT.--Prefers rich bottom-lands and fertile hillsides.

NOTES.--Leaves appear late and fall early. Fruit very aromatic. Pith chambered, cream colored. The juices from the husk stain the hands brown. Not easily transplanted. Often infested with caterpillars.

+SUMMER KEY TO THE SPECIES OF CARYA+

a. Bark of trunk essentially smooth, not deeply furrowed nor shaggy; husk of fruit less than 1/8 inch thick.

b. Leaflets usually 5-7, glabrous beneath; buds dome-shaped, greenish; kernel of nut sweet.

c. Twigs long-hairy; fruit less than 1 inch long. C. microcarpa, p. 75.

cc. Twigs glabrous or nearly so; fruit 1-1/2-2 inches long. C. glabra, p. 77.

bb. Leaflets usually 7-11, more or less downy beneath; buds elongated, bright yellow; kernel of nut bitter. C. cordiformis, p. 79.