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Little Walnut - Juglans microcarpa
Walnut Family: Juglandaceae
Also commonly called Texas walnut, Texas black walnut, dwarf walnut,
river walnut, nogal, nogalillo, nogalito. The nut of little walnut is
the smallest of all walnuts.
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Little Walnut
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The wood of little walnut is dark brown, hard and heavy, but
not strong. The sapwood of little walnut is a lighter
reddish gray to white color. Little walnut wood is sometimes
used to make cabinets, furniture, paneling, and veneer, but
its lack of abundance limits its use. The nuts produced by
this tree are consumed by wildlife and considered a valuable
food source for many small mammals. In Texas, little walnut
rootstock is used to establish non-native walnut types.
Little walnut shows promise as a small tree for use in
windbreaks and shelterbelts. |
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These Little Walnuts were started from seed 26 years ago.
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Little walnut is a small to medium
tree growing to a height of 20 to 30 feet. Plants may
have a single or multiple trunk with spreading low
branches. The bark is gray to dark brown becoming deeply
fissured with age. Little walnut has a long taproot
allowing the plant to reach moisture from shallow water
tables. alternate, odd-pinnately compound leaves are 9
to 12 inches long. The 11 to 25 narrow leaflets are
serrate with small teeth. The leaves are dark yellow to
green with a dull surface and the lower surface is
somewhat paler.
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Little walnut is a native and grows from
southwestern Kansas through Oklahoma and Texas, south into
northeastern Mexico. Little walnut would commonly be located
within the narrow riparian forests adjoining a river or
creek bottom.
Propagation by seed is the recommended way to produce little
walnut seedlings. Like most walnut species, the seeds are
characterized by a dormant embryo. Seed dormancy can be
broken by artificial stratification at 34 to 41degrees F for
90 to 120 days. Stratified seeds will normally germinate
within 4 to 5 weeks. Seeds may be naturally stratified by
planting in the fall in moist, well-drained, deep soil, then
allowing at least 90 days with soil temperatures below 41
degrees. Little walnut trees will first bear seed at
approximately 15 years of age with abundant seed crops being
produced at irregular intervals. Once seedlings are
established, young plants generally grow rapidly. Small
seedlings will need to be protected from browsing animals.
The walnut husk fly may infest ripening fruit of little
walnut in late summer. Damage by this insect varies, but
generally tends to be less in exposed windy areas. Little
walnut is highly susceptible to root or crown rot when
periodically flooded. There are no known cultivars of little
walnut at this time. The species can be obtained
commercially from some state forestry associations and seed
companies.
(United States Department of Agriculture
NRCS Plant Fact Sheet)
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