Tree Identification - Butternut

[@MrSummerbreeze01]

I have some beautiful canker free Butternut trees here in central NY. I've also have some all cankered up and dying and dead ones. My observations over the last 20 years leads me to believe there are some strains naturally more resistant and also certain that Butternut thrives in deep loamy fertile soil with a pH between 6.8-7.2. Definitely does not like hard or wet clay.

[@getintothewildwithjeffruma8777]

I have a few butternut trees on my land along with several very large and old black walnut trees. I didn’t know what the butternut trees were until today and to fine out that they are kind of rare makes me appreciate mine even more. Thanks for the information 👍

[@joes8275]

Very Interesting & informative video. Great craftsmanship on the chair also.

[@coldsteel1991]

I don't believe we have either of those up here in northern Maine but I wish we did. I always learn something from you and you explain things very well. Thanks for taking the time. to make this great video!

[@joeduca8582]

Hi Peter. Very informative and enjoyable video, aside from your fishing and fly tying stuff that I love :o) The street I grew up on was named Butternut. I don't remember seeing any of the trees, but the leaf stems we picked up and used as "little kid" sized whips look familiar. Fast forward 60 years and I've had and have some where I live now that look like Butternut trees. They sort of fit the criteria for ID in my Petterson Eastern Trees Guide The first one I found grew on the edge of our yard, bore nuts, then died probably from being choked out from the surrounding tall oaks, box elders and evergreens. That was probably over ten years ago that I found the nuts. The husks were egg shaped, green and the shell looked like a pecan or maybe a walnut like you buy in a store, I don't remember - I know the walnut type - like one I had on the window sill for quite a while tasted good. But I think I had some that looked and tasted like pecans. Another grew out from the old barn foundation along the roadside ditch. I noticed clusters of those egg shaped husks a few years ago but not recently. Now the tree is taller than the utility poles across the street, maybe because it gets more sun than the one in the backyard. I'll have to take a closer look after watching your video. Thanks from a fellow upstate New Yorker for renewing my interest in trees.

[@ericwanderweg8525]

Great video. I’ve seen a few Black Walnut groves not too far from me but I can’t say I’ve seen any Butternut. I’ve had the same experience trying Hickory nuts when they’ve fallen before they were fully ripe. What little meat in them is very bitter, almost like eating baking soda. Another poster mentioned Chestnuts, which I’ve located over a hundred this year. One promising stand growing roadside in full sunlight has 2 trees in close proximity loaded with burs. I’ll be checking on it later on in the season to see if any contain viable seed.

[@alexanderrestucci3604]

Love your videos. Thank you. I'm going to school for Forestry.

[@SarahWilsonMySmartPuppy]

Thank you!

[@delve_]

I read in Robin Wall Kimmerer's (wonderful) book _Braiding Sweetgrass_ that apparently the Haudenosaunee say, "their ancestors were so fond of butternuts that they are a good marker of old village sites today." (p. 14) I can't help but wonder if that might be what you happened upon here, and why there were so many butternuts all so close together.

[@petercollin5670]

Hard to say. These trees were maybe 60-80 years old, indians were gone from the site by then. But they could be the offspring of an ancient butternut orchard.

[@delve_]

@@petercollin5670 Indeed, it is hard to say. But either way, it's at least still an interesting prospect to imagine.

[@williammatthews2948]

Is Butternut sometimes called White Walnut? That chair is beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

[@petercollin5670]

Yes I should have mentioned that. Seems like every species has a couple of colloquial names they go by.

[@williammatthews2948]

@@petercollin5670 Thanks.

[@noreaster4194]

0:00 Wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius)

[@RestorationAustralia]

Very informative, imagine one day you'll discover a new species or something they thought that extinct. Have you heard the story of the Wollemi Pine?

[@petercollin5670]

Yes, what a fantastic story. I am intrigued that they seem to have cultivated the tree for landscaping purposes, and that they may become a common sight in parts of Australia.

[@luizzahome]

nice content, nice video, congratulations, I wish you success🔔

[@Wordsnwood]

As a forester, how is the value of butternut, given the rarity? Also, is that canker terminal or treatable?

[@petercollin5670]

Butternut has never been particularly valuable. It prices about like basswood as far as stumpage. There is no treatment for the canker. It first showed up in the Midwest, and is from unknown origin.

[@johnstevenns5830]

The leaf scars are a great way to differentiate Butternut from Black Walnut in the winter time. Especially on small trees below my height. Butternut leaf scars look like a goat face🐐. Black walnut leaf scars look more like a monkey at least how i describe it.

[@Daniel-nm8oe]

Butternut is fairly rare

[@jdoboy6835]

One major mistake, comparing butternuts with walnuts, is not stating whether it's a 'white' or 'black' walnut tree. Toss 'white' (English soft shell) walnuts into the equation & i'll be a happy camper, & you'll be correct. Please do a WHITE vrs BLACK walnut tree comparison!? I need to ID the difference in leaves, bark, nut size, shape & taste. THANKS

[@petercollin5670]

@@jdoboy6835 that's the problem with unscripted videos. I always forget to mention something!

[@jdoboy6835]

@@petercollin5670 Would you happen to know the differences in leave shapes, between white & black walnut trees? I searched everywhere. I know the smooth looking bark of White varieties,, but that trait won't show it's hand for 2-3 years. I have dozens of walnut trees popping up out of the ground, way back around my orchard & I don't want to mower them down till I check & know for sure. Sure don't want to mow down any soft shells! Thanks

[@petercollin5670]

@@jdoboy6835 butternut twigs and leaf stems often feel sticky. Butternut has fewer leaves in a cluster, but can't give you a count orfhand.

[@jdoboy6835]

@@petercollin5670 THANKS. So far, after searching around everywhere, looks like BLACK walnut has anywhere from 17-23 leaves on a stem, & the leaves are way more pointy. And there seems to be just 9 on a White. Then you gotta fugure in the leaves on a Heartnut,,, right in between those numbers. I'll look for your Email, & send you some pics.

[@kingzufles]

Never have found one in the woods of north Mississippi I've seen an American chestnut there's wild hickory trees are all around my house and wild pecans wild black walnuts and even a few Beech trees that bear nut but never a butternut