Skip to main content
 Home  »  Species at Risk  »  Butternut

Butternut

B. Boysen

Juglans cinerea

Species at Risk Status

Federal Government status: Endangered

Provincial Government status: Endangered

Description

  • Medium sized tree, it is a member of the walnut family.
  • Distinctive ridged and furrowed ash grey coloured bark.
  • Produces small purplish flowers in the spring.
  • Produces drooping clusters of nuts that have sticky, yellow-green husks.
  • Compound leaves, with 11-17 leaflets. Leaflets are serrated and oblong in shape.
  • Branching alternate.
  • Roots produce a chemical that will kill some nearby plants.

Habitat

  • Likely never common in Ontario, it prefers rich moist soil in fields and forest edges.

Threats

  • Butternut canker is an incurable fungal disease that kills the trees within a few years. This fungus was introduced from overseas. It is estimated that 1/3 of Butternut trees in eastern Ontario have died.

Conservation Actions

  • In Ontario, the Forest Gene Conservation Association has established a Butternut Conservation Group. They will seek out disease resistant trees to be used to propagate seedlings.
  • If you think you have butternut trees on your property, please contact the Parry Sound Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks at 705-746-4201.

Range Map

Support Your Biosphere

With your support, we can expand our impact in the Georgian Bay region through conservation and education.

We are a registered Canadian charity #87100 1335 RR0001