Juglans nigra

The nutmeats are sweet and edible, and are a favorite food for red and grey squirrels.

Rich moist bottomlands, fields.

Black walnut wood is heavy, hard, strong, stiff, and has good shock resistance. The heartwood is one of the most durable of any hardwood. Black walnut works easily with hand or machine tools, takes and holds paints and stains exceptionally well, is readily polished and easily glued. The wood finishes beautifully with an outstandingly handsome grain color and pattern. The heartwood is chocolate brown or darker, sometimes with purplish streaks. Most black walnut goes into furniture of the highest quality. It is also prized for gunstocks and interior finishes. In furniture, it is used either as a solid wood or as a veneer. It is popular for any interior finish where its striking grain and color create special effects. The wood is particularly well suited to gunstocks because of its stability after seasoning, its fine machining qualities, its uniformity of texture, and its beauty. It became popular in Colonial days as an imitation of the more expensive imported mahogany.