I came across a tree while walking the dog the other day that maybe some knowlegable person here can help me identify. It is a walnut, looks exactly like a black walnut tree but is huge. I mean really big over 60 feet. The thing that got me wondering is the nuts are thin shelled. They stain the sidewalk like black walnuts but you can crack them by stepping on them. Leaves, bark general appearance is black walnut. Nuts look like real small english walnuts except they stain the concrete like black walnuts. Bastogne is supposed to be sterile so what do you think it is? I've never seen Claro walnuts so I don't have anything to go on for that I.D. Opinions? Somebody's got to have one? DW

I've got a text book on walnuts from college. I'll dig it out and see if I can lend a hand. I'll look into this weekend.

One dumb question. Are you sure it isn't a black walnut? There are some old sets of trees out here where the black walnuts are 40' plus.

Seven, I am sure it is some variety of Black Walnut. I have been around English Walnuts grown here in UT since I was a kid. The Black Walnuts I am used to seeing have a very hard, thick shell almost round. These nuts were oval and thin shelled I could break one by stepping on it. I have never seen what I came to know as black walnut that you could break with anything less than a nut cracker of some sort and it better be heavy duty. DW

Maybe it's a paradox or bastogne tree. They produce nuts that are sterile, so if there are no similar trees around that's a possibility.

Another vote on paradox.

Might be butternut. My dad was a great fan of them. They are a type of walnut with oval nuts.

Look here for a comparison between black walnut and butternut:

http://www.lrconline.com/Exten...glish/pdf/bttrnt.pdf

quote:

HOW TO TELL A BUTTERNUT FROM A BLACK WALNUT
You can tell a butternut from its close relative, the black walnut, by looking at the nuts, bark and twigs.

Thanks Grenadier, Its close but not quite. The differences I see are; serrated leave edges, alternating growth of some leaves, others are close to being opposite, they do have stems on the leaves. The nuts are smooth as can be, and pointed. I picked a couple of them today. I took photos of both the leaves and the nuts but I am not talented enough to post them. I sent them to Gordon Smith down at Old Tree Walnut in Hurricane Ut.to see if he can identify them. I live in Central Utah and the tree is only a couple of streets from my place. Thanks again for the information. DW

Butternut was used as a dye for fabric in the old days. It's also called 'white walnut ' since the wood is much lighter than the black walnut.

Well I think the mystery is solved. It's not a walnut, it's a pecan. Not one of the commercial varieties but it was identified as a "seedling pecan" typically used as a polinator the nuts have good flavor but they are too small to have any commercial value. I'd like to thank Gordon at Old Tree Gun Blanks in UT. for the I.D.
DW

There are millions of those trees around. They are the original native pecan trees.

This is the first one I have ever noticed around here. Since I have been looking, I found one more here in UT. I think the only thing native to the valleys here is cottonwood and juniper mixed in with a lot of sage brush.
Thanks, DW

there's some that say pecan is originally from texas -- nd then bred into the commerical ones .. and yes, the tree looks very much like a walnut, as they are related .,... the wood makes good workable stocks, but not as nice grain, .. that is, light grain, unless stained .. hickory makes a prettier stock, as it ages with nice yellow and gold

quote:

Originally posted by dwheels:
This is the first one I have ever noticed around here. Since I have been looking, I found one more here in UT. I think the only thing native to the valleys here is cottonwood and juniper mixed in with a lot of sage brush.
Thanks, DW

The pecan is a North American native species.



I grew up in one of the green shaded areas of N. Texas where the little spike projects off to the left below the OK border. There were thousands of trees within a 30 minutes walk.

Pecan wood is extremely good when used in smokers or on grills with beef, pork or chicken.

quote:

Originally posted by Cliff Lyle:
Pecan wood is extremely good when used in smokers or on grills with beef, pork or chicken.

+1

I use pecan pellets occasionally in my Traeger pellet grill and they are excellent.

Yeap, I'd say that is a different kind of walnut, espesilly if it is PECAN.

Keith