Butternut

Leaves

Form

• 11–17 almost stalkless leaflets
• Sticky when young
• Upper surface rough
• Lower surface densely hairy
• Terminal leaflet usually present, about the same size as the adjacent leaflets
• Lateral leaflets progressively smaller toward the leaf base
• Central stalk stout, hairy

Length

• Leaf and central stalk 30–60 cm

Colour

• Upper surface yellowish-green
• Lower surface paler

Buds

Form

• Terminal bud present, elongated
• Somewhat flattened, blunt-tipped
• Hairy, with lobed outer scales
• Leaf scars flat on upper margin
• Edged with a pad of hairs

Length

• 12–18 mm

Colour

• Pale yellow

Twigs

Form

• Stout, hairy

Colour

• Orange-yellow
• Pith reddish-brown

Flowers

Form

• Pollen flowers in catkins
• 8–12 stamens
• Seed flowers in erect clusters of 4–7 

Length 

• Pollen catkins 6–14 cm
• Seed flowers minute

Structure

• Monoecious

Floral timing

• Late May or early June

Fruits

Form

• Elongated, pointed
• In drooping clusters of 1–5
• Husk with dense sticky hairs
• Surface of nut shell with irregular, jagged ridges
• Kernel sweet, oily

Length

• 5–8 cm

Structure

• Nut

Bark

Form

• Smooth when young
• Becoming ridged and grooved with narrow, shallow, dark fissures and wide, irregular, flat-topped, intersecting ridges

Colour

• Light grey when young, becoming dark grey

Wood

Texture

• Light, soft, weak

Colour

• Reddish-brown

Morphology

• Semiring-porous, coarse-grained

Uses

• Cabinetry and turnery

Size

Height

• To 25 m

Diameter

• To 75 cm

Maximum age

• 80 years

Tree form

Forest-grown

Trunk

• Often short, forked

Crown

• Open, broad
• Irregular in outline and rounded on top
• A few large ascending branches
• Smaller side branches tending to bend downward,
• then upward at the tips

Root system

• Deep, wide-spreading
• Usually with a taproot

Habitat

Site

• Varied
• Dry rocky soils (particularly those of limestone origin)
• Best growth on well-drained, fertile soils in shallow valleys
• and on gradual slopes

Light tolerance

• Intolerant of shade

Associated species

• Singly or in small groups mixed with other species

Range

A species of eastern North America
In Canada, southern New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario

COSEWIC Status

Endangered