A Bigger, Better Butternut

The Poor Prole’s Almanac

The butternut walnut is arguably the least known nut tree across eastern North America. Often called the white walnut or the oil nut, it grows throughout the northeastern United States. Once a prized tree for furniture-making, carving, and boats, as well as the delicious nuts, it’s mostly been lost to history today. Unfortunately, its story is similar to the American Chestnut. Butternut Canker Disease (caused by the fungus Ophiognomonia clavigignenti-juglandacearum), was first discovered in the 1960’s (although it may have been in American forests earlier) and has slowly decimated butternut populations across the country, with few regions to the north still showing little signs of butternut canker.

In this episode, we review this history of the butternut, the problems with hybridizing it, and the future of the butternut in North America!

Check out the corresponding substack article for resources, citations, and more information!

https://poorprolesalmanac.substack.com/p/the-forgotten-butternut

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