Butternut

Juglans cinerea

Taxonomy

Division:: Magnoliophyta | - Flowering plants
Family:: Juglandaceae
Genus:: Juglans
Species:: Juglans cinerea

Growth Characteristics

Life Cycle:: Perennial
Growth Habit:: Tree
Height:: More than 40 ft
Light Requirements:: Full Sun
Drought Tolerance:: High
Bloom Months:: apr, may
Bloom Colors:: Green, Brown
Food Forest:: Plant contains edible parts

Native Range

United States: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Canada: Manitoba, New Brunswick, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec

Keystone Species Ranking

Caterpillar Keystone:: ★☆☆☆☆ Based on number of butterfly and moth species using this genus as host plant (Source: National Wildlife Federation)

Host Plant for Caterpillars

Ailanthus silkmoth (Samia cynthia), Angus's datana (Datana angusii), Banded Tussock Moth (Halysidota tessellaris), Copper Underwing (Amphipyra pyramidoides), Distinct Lichen Moth (Achatia distincta), elm spanworm moth (Ennomos subsignaria), Epione underwing (Catocala epione), eyed baileya moth (Baileya ophthalmica), fall cankerworm (Alsophila pometaria), false prominent (Schizura leptinoides), Gluphisia septentrionis, Gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar), Hickory Tussock Moth (Lophocampa caryae), Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis), Luna moth (Actias luna), Newlywed Underwing (Catocala neogama), Norman's Quaker (Crocigrapha normani), pecan leaf casebearer (Acrobasis juglandis), pecan leafminer (Cameraria caryaefoliella), Penitent Underwing (Catocala piatrix), Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus), Red-humped caterpillar moth (Schizura concinna), Regal Moth (Citheronia regalis), Rosy Maple Moth (Dryocampa rubicunda), Sleeping Baileya (Baileya dormitans), Smeared Dagger Moth (Acronicta oblinita), sordid hypena (Hypena sordidula), Splendid Royal Moth (Citheronia splendens), Stigmella juglandifoliella, tentoriferella (Machimia tentoriferella), Three-spotted sallow (Eupsilia tristigmata), Virginia Tiger Moth (Spilosoma virginica), Walnut Sphinx (Amorpha juglandis), White-marked Tussock Moth (Orgyia leucostigma), Widow Underwing (Catocala vidua), Yellownecked caterpillar (Datana integerrima), Yellownecked caterpillar (Datana ministra), Banded Hairstreak (Satyrium calanus), hickory hairstreak (Satyrium caryaevorum)

Reported Fauna Sightings

Bees: American bumble bee (Bombus pensylvanicus), American bumble bee (Bombus pensylvanicus), Common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens), Common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens), Red-belted bumble bee (Bombus rufocinctus), Red-belted bumble bee (Bombus rufocinctus)

Soil Requirements

Soil Type:: rich, well-drained loamy soil
pH:: 6.0 - 7.5 (slightly acidic to neutral)
Drainage:: excellent drainage required
Moisture:: consistently moist
Notes:: Prefers fertile soils in riparian zones

Germination Information

Pre-treatment: Seeds are cold stratified for 60 to 120 days or allowed to undergo natural stratification outdoors. Seeds have a hard seed coat and an embryo dormancy that can be broken by cold stratification.

Establishment: Seeds are either collected from mature nuts in the wild or purchased from local collectors. The general distribution of J. cinerea is within temperate deciduous forests of eastern North America, from Maine to Minnesota and south to Arkansas and Mississippi.

Source: npn.rngr.net