Description:
A decidious Tree growing to 20m by 20m at a medium rate.
Walnut
is a large deciduous tree attaining heights of 25-35 m, and a
trunk up to 2 m diameter, commonly with a short trunk and broad
crown, though taller and narrower in dense forest competition.
It is a light-demanding species, requiring full sun to grow well.
The bark is smooth silvery-grey, with scattered broad fissures
with a rougher texture. Like all walnuts, the pith of the twigs
contains air spaces. The leaves are spirally arranged, 25-40
cm long, odd-pinnate with 5-9 leaflets, the largest leaflets
the three at the apex, 10-18 cm long and 6-8 cm broad; the basal
pair of leaflets much smaller, 5-8 cm long. The male flowers
are in drooping catkins 5-10 cm long, the female flowers terminal,
in clusters of two to five, ripening in the autumn into a fruit
with a green, semi-fleshy husk and a brown corrugated nut. The
whole fruit, including the husk, falls in autumn; the seed is
large, with a relatively thin shell, and edible, with a rich
flavour.
Distribution and habitat:
Woodland Garden; Canopy.
The Walnut (Juglans regia) is a species that is native from
the Balkans, in southeast Europe, east through southwest and
central Asia and the Himalayas to southwest China. The largest
forests are in Kyrgyzstan, where Walnut trees occur in extensive,
nearly pure walnut forests at 1,000-2,000 m altitude (Hemery
1998) - notably at Arslanbob in Jalal-Abad Province.
Hystory:
The scientific name Juglans is from Latin jovis glans, "Jupiter's
nut", and regia, "royal". It common name, Persian
walnut, indicates its origins in Persia in
southwest Asia; 'walnut' derives from the Germanic wal- for "foreign",
recognising that it is not a nut native to northern Europe.
Other names include Walnut (which does not distinguish the
tree from other species of Juglans), Common Walnut and English
Walnut, the latter name possibly because English sailors were
prominent in Juglans regia nut distribution at one time. In
the Chinese and Korean languages, the edible, cultivated walnut
is called hú táo in Mandarin or hodu in Korean,
which means literally "Hu peach," suggesting that
the ancient Chinese associated the introduction of the Persian
walnut into East Asia with the Hu barbarians of the regions
north and northwest of China.
In Skopelos Greece, an island in the Aegean Sea, local legend
suggests that whoever plants a walnut tree will die as soon
as the tree can "see" the sea. This has not been
proven as fact, however it might take some time to find a
local arborist willing to take on the job of planting a walnut
tree. Most planting is done by field rats (subfamily Murinae).
Parts used:
Leaves, bark.
Constituens:
The active principle of the whole Walnut tree, as well as
of the nuts, is Nucin or Juglon. The kernels contain oil, mucilage,
albumin, mineral matter, cellulose and water.
Edible Uses:
Edible Parts: Sap; Seed.
Edible Uses: Oil; Sweetener; Tea.
Seed - eaten raw or used in confections, cakes, ice cream etc.
A delicious flavour. The seed can also be ground into a meal
and used as a flavouring in sweet and savoury dishes. The unripe
fruits are pickled in vinegar. An edible oil is obtained from
the seed, it should not be stored for any length of time since
it tends to go rancid quickly. The oil has a pleasant flavour
and is used in salads or for cooking. The sap is tapped in
spring and used to make a sugar. The finely ground shells are
used in the stuffing of 'agnolotti' pasta. They have also been
used as adulterant of spices. The dried green husks contain
2.5 - 5% ascorbic acid (vitamin C) - this can be extracted
and used as a vitamin supplement. The leaves are used as a
tea.
Medicinal Uses:
Detergent;
Diuretic;
Laxative;
Lithontripic;
Pectoral;
Skin;
Stimulant;
Vermifuge.
The walnut tree has a long history of medicinal use, being
used in folk medicine to treat a wide range of complaints.
The leaves are
alterative ,
anthelmintic,
anti-inflammatory,
astringent and
depurative.
They are used internally the treatment of constipation, chronic
coughs, asthma, diarrhoea, dyspepsia etc. The leaves are also
used to treat skin ailments
and purify the blood. They are considered to be specific in
the treatment of strumous sores. Male inflorescences are made
into a broth and used in the treatment of coughs and vertigo.
The rind is
anodyne and astringent.
It is used in the treatment of diarrhoea and anaemia. The seeds
are antilithic,
diuretic and
stimulant.
They are used internally in the treatment of low back pain,
frequent urination, weakness of both legs, chronic cough, asthma,
constipation due to dryness or anaemia and stones in the urinary
tract. Externally, they are made into a paste and applied as
a poultice to
areas of dermatitis and eczema. The oil from the seed is anthelmintic.
It is also used in the treatment of menstrual problems and
dry skin conditions.
The cotyledons are used in the treatment of cancer.
Walnut has a long history of folk use in the treatment of cancer,
some extracts from the plant have shown anticancer activity.
The bark and root bark are anthelmintic, astringent and
detergent.
The plant is used in
Bach flower
remedies - the keywords for prescribing it are 'Oversensitive
to ideas and influences' and 'The link-breaker'.
Others Uses:
Dye;
Herbicide;
Miscellany;
Oil;
Paint;
Polish;
Repellent;
Tannin;
Teeth;
Wood.
A yellow
dye is
obtained from the green husks. It is green. The green nuts
(is this the same as the green husks?) and the leaves are also
used. The rind of unripe fruits is a good source of
tannin.
A brown dye is
obtained from the leaves and mature husks. It does not require
a mordant and turns black if prepared in an iron pot. The dye is
often used as a colouring and tonic for
dark hair.
The leaves and the husks can be dried for later use. A golden-brown dye is
obtained from the catkins in early summer. It does not require
a mordant. A drying oil is obtained from the seed. It is used
in soap making, paints,
etc. It is not very stable and quickly goes rancid. The nuts
can be used as a wood polish.
Simply crack open the shell and rub the kernel into the wood
to release the oils. Wipe off with a clean cloth. The dried
fruit rind is used to paint doors,
window frames etc (it probably protects the wood due to its tannin content).
The shells may be used as anti-skid agents for tyres, blasting
grit, and in the preparation of activated carbon. The leaves
contain juglone, this has been shown to have pesticidal and
herbicidal properties. The crushed leaves are an insect
repellent.
Juglone is also secreted from the roots of the tree, it has
an inhibitory effect on the growth of many other plants. Bark
of the tree and the fruit rind are dried and used as a tooth
cleaner. They can also be used fresh. Wood - heavy, hard, durable,
close grained, seasons and polishes
well. A very valuable timber tree, it is used for furniture
making, veneer etc.
Dosage and recipes:
Decoction: use 4 tsp. leaves or chopped
green shells with 1 cup water. Take 1 cup a day, a mouthful
at a time.
Bath Additive: boil 1 lb. dried leaves
in 1 1/2 qt. water for 45 minutes, and add the liquid to
the bath water. For a footbath, reduce the amounts proportionately.
'To preserve green Walnuts in Syrup
'Take as many green Walnuts as you please, about the middle
of July, try them all with a pin, if it goes easily through
them they are fit for your purpose; lay them in Water for
nine days, washing and shifting them Morning and Night;
then boil them in water until they be a little Soft, lay
them to drain; then pierce them through with a Wooden Sciver,
and in the hole put a Clove, and in some a bit of Cinnamon,
and in some the rind of a Citron Candi'd: then take the
weight of your Nuts in Sugar, or a little more; make it
into a syrup, in which boil your Nuts (scimming them) till
they be tender; then put them up in Gally potts, and cover
them close. When you lay them to drain, wipe them with a
Course cloth to take off a thin green skin.
They are Cordial and Stomachal.' - (From The Family Physician,
'by Geo. Hartman, Phylo Chymist, who liv'd and Travell'd
with the Honourable Sir Kenelm Digby, in several parts of
Europe the space of Seven Years till he died.')
The next is from a seventeenth-century household MS. Receipt
Book inscribed Madam Susanna Avery, Her Book, May ye 12th,
Anno Domini 1688.
'
To Pickel Wallnutts Green
'Let your nutts be green as not to have any shell; then run
a kniting pin two ways through them; then put them into as
much ordinary vinegar as will cover them, and let them stand
thirty days, shifting them every too days in ffrech vinegar;
then ginger and black peper of each ounce, rochambole two
ounces slised, a handfull of bay leaves; put all togeather
cold; then wrap up every wall nutt singly in a vine leaf,
and put them in putt them into [sic] the ffolloing pickel:
for 200 of walnutts take two gallans of the best whit vineager,
a pint of the best mustard seed, fore ounces of horse radish,
with six lemons sliced with the rin(d)s on, cloves and mace
half an ounce, a stone jar, and put the pickel on them, and
cork them close up; and they will be ffitt for use in three
months, and keep too years.'
Safety:
None known
