The branches and boughs of deciduous trees offer a welcome reprieve from the intense August sun in north Florida. The temperature can drop over ten degrees in the shade under the canopy of greenery, but there is no relief from the insipid humidity.
Behind the leafy labyrinth a variety of activities are obscured from observers below. Birds, insects, squirrels, spiders and many more creatures conduct their daily lives in the emerald tinted shadows of the woody residents.
In late summer these trees are actively producing the basis of the next generation of their particular species. Cones, burs, fruit and nuts all hang suspended above the earth while maturing.
Some are common and others are infrequently encountered in panhandle Florida. One of the relative rarities is the black walnut.
Juglans nigra, as this species is botanically identified, is a native tree with a variety of features and uses valued by humanity. The southern range of this tree is the non-coastal zones in the counties of north Florida. It is not adapted to coastal environs with sandy, alkaline soil.
The tennis ball sized black walnut clusters are maturing in the last days of August. Soon they will darken and drop to the ground where they can be easily collected or eaten by squirrels.
It grows in the wild and planted groves in areas east of the great plains in the U.S. and into southern Canada. Well drained soil with a high organic matter content will support this slow growing hardwood.
The shape of the tree depends on the setting where it grows. Wild trees which occur in forested areas tend to be tall with a straight single trunk and a canopy reaching about 90 feet above the ground.
Walnut trees growing in open areas with full sun exposure tend to be much shorter. Trunks, while usually singular, will have noticeably larger girth as compared to specimens of the same age which grew in heavily forested sites.
This tree is started from its nut which, if planted with the previous season’s nuts, commonly have a high rate of germination. Started in one-gallon pots they are easily transplanted into permanent sites in the landscape or grove.
The leaves, technically, can be up to two feet in length and may contain up to 23 leaflets. A healthy tree’s canopy produces dense shade under its reaches which suppress the grow of many other plants.
Additionally, to eliminate competitors this species produces an allelopathic chemical in its root zone to give this tree an added advantage. This natural form of biological warfare kills some plant species and deters others, so if added as a specimen in the home landscape this factor should be considered.
The chocolate brown lumber is valued highly for its use in furniture, paneling, and many other products. To a lesser degree its nut meat is used in a variety of recipes, usually as a flavor enhancer.
Extremely hard, it takes a steel hammer or some other ridged tool and much physical effort to crack these tough nuts. The challenge discourages many.
Currently the nuts are maturing in the waning days of summer. In the coming weeks the nut’s husk will turn from green to dark brown and drop from the branches.
Those who collect these will often leave the nuts on their driveway and use vehicle traffic to remove the leathery husk. The nuts, being as hard as the gravel, will not be damaged.
With its many assets and survival adaptations, the black walnut is a hardy competitor in panhandle Florida’s summer and beyond.
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