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Juglans cinerea 001.JPG  Juglans cinerea 002.JPG      


NAME: Butternut Walnut

SPECIES / FAMILY:  Juglans Cinerea / Juglandaceae

OTHER COMMON NAME(S):  White Walnut

CONDITIONS: sun-partial shade
 

PARTS:

EDIBLE cid:image001.jpg@01D3EC3E.A305A520

TASTE

RAW/COOK

SEASON

All

  

 

 

 

Shoots

 

 

 

 

Leaves

        

Stalk/Stem

 

 

 

 

Buds

        

Flowers

 

 

 

 

Fruits

 

 

 

 

Pods

  

 

    

Seeds

 

 

 

 

Nuts

delicious

RAW/GRIND/COOK

Fall

Roots

 

 

 

 

Bark

 

 

 

 

Sap

sweet

RAW/COOK

late Winter

 

PORTION: small

 

COMMENT: Sap. Seed/Nut - not perfectly round like black walnuts. Eaten raw or ground into a powder and used with cereal flours in making cakes, biscuits, muffins, bread etc. Oily and sweet tasting with a rich agreeable flavour. The oil in the seed is not very stable and the seed soon becomes rancid once it is opened. The kernel is hard to extract. The unripe fruit can be pickled. The seed is 3 - 6cm in diameter and is produced in clusters of 3 - 5 fruits. The sweet sap is tapped in spring and can be used as a refreshing drink. It can also be boiled down to a syrup or sugar, or added to maple syrup.(1)

“The best flavored of the walnuts, it was prized in my family for homemade butternut ice cream. It was one of my mother’s joys in life,” the Green Deane. To process them, first do with the walnuts what you do with acorns. Put them in water and discard any that float. Harvest, hull, dry (cure) nuts at least two weeks, soak before shelling. Nuts are cured when they are crispy and snap when broken.(2) Another option: It is less messy to let the entire walnut (including green husk which will turn black) dry thoroughly for several months before cracking open, avoids liquids staining hands and garments.

 

CAUTION: The naphthoquinone constituents may cause gastric (stomach) irritation. Avoid in patients with gallstones.(1)

 

NUTRITION/MEDICINAL: Astringent;  Cholagogue;  Febrifuge;  Laxative;  Odontalgic;  Stomachic.(1)

 

LOOK-A-LIKES:  

 

POISONOUS LOOK-A-LIKES: 

 

OTHER USES: Dye;  Herbicide;  Oil;  Wood.(1)

 

SOURCE LINKS (may include nutritional and medicinal info, plus other uses):

  1. https://pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Juglans+cinerea
  2. http://www.eattheweeds.com/black-walnuts-and-butternut
  3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juglans_cinerea
  4. http://www.twisted-tree.net/new-page-1