|
|
Forestry
Champion Trees
English Walnut Tree -
(Juglans regia L.)
England Arkansas,
You’ve done it again, another Arkansas Champion tree! It was discovered and
nominated as an Arkansas Champion tree by retired Monroe County Extension Agent Reggie
Talley. It is fitting for England to have an English Walnut (Juglans regia
L.), a tree of royalty. The genus name Juglans is from the
Latin Jovis glans, meaning "acorn [or any nut of similar shape] of Jove
or Jupiter." The species name regia is the Latin word for royal. A member
of the family Juglandaceae, this tree is also known as the Persian, Madeira,
and Carpathian walnut. It is native to the region in Eurasia
extending from the Near East through to the Himalayas and on to western
China. The nuts of these trees must have been
harvested from earliest times, however the earliest records of actually
cultivating these as orchards of Walnut trees go back to classical Greek and
Roman times. In addition to the nuts, these trees are also a source of high
quality wood used for furniture and gun stocks. Commercial cultivation of these
trees began in Europe in the 16th
century. They are now grown worldwide and the largest production is in
California.
Often planted as an ornamental, these deciduous
trees display alternately arranged pinnately-compound leaves having 7 to 9
oblong leaflets, each up to 5 inches long, and husk/nuts to 2 inches in
diameter, most of which are thin-shelled. The Adams
tree is a prolific nut producer, however, the greedy squirrels and Evelyn have
occasionally had words.
The identity of this
variety of tree can sometimes be elusive. It
appeared at first glance as a hickory on a Saturday afternoon in May of
2001. However, the bark was unusual and it didn’t fit in with the rest of
the tree types around England, Arkansas. The light gray bark and large
compound leaves certainly looked hickory enough but the husk-covered nuts
were huge and unusual in shape. One helpful method of identification is to
check the pith type of a small branch. Hickory trees have solid,
continuous pith; this tree's
branches had "chambered" or "pitted"
pith and it turned out to be a Walnut. In fact, this
tree is an English Walnut that was planted several years ago at Evelyn Adams
home located at 121 NE 2nd in England. Legend has it that
Brother Hoover, a Methodist minister, planted this unusual specimen. It
has a Bigness Index (BI) of 219, stands 63 feet in height, has a
crown-spread of 75 feet, with a trunk circumference of 11 feet and 5
inches.
By: Reggie Talley
Retired Monroe County Extension Agent
Back to Champion Trees
|
