7,617
edits
Changes
no edit summary
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = English Walnut
| image = English Walnuts.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Whole and shelled ''J. regia''
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Fagales]]
| familia = [[Juglandaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Walnut|Juglans]]''
| species = '''''J. regia'''''
| binomial = ''Juglans regia''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
The '''English Walnut''' (''Juglans regia''), also known as '''Common Walnut''' or '''Persian Walnut''', is a species of [[walnut]] that is native in a region stretching from the [[Balkans]] (in southeast [[Europe]]) eastward — all the way to the [[Himalaya]]s and southwest [[China]]. The largest forests are in [[Kyrgyzstan]], where English Walnut trees occur in extensive, nearly pure walnut forests at 1,000–2,000 m altitude (Hemery 1998)—notably at [[Arslanbob]] in [[Jalal-Abad Province]].
English Walnut is a large deciduous [[tree]] attaining heights of 25–35 m, and a trunk up to 2 m diameter, commonly with a short trunk and broad crown, though taller and narrower in dense forest competition. It is a light-demanding species, requiring full sun to grow well.
The bark is smooth, olive-brown when young and silvery-grey on older branches, with scattered broad fissures with a rougher texture. Like all walnuts, the [[pith]] of the twigs contains air spaces, the chambered pith brownish in colour. The [[leaf|leaves]] are alternately arranged, 25-40 cm long, odd-pinnate with 5–9 leaflets, paired alternately with one terminal leaflet. The largest leaflets the three at the apex, 10–18 cm long and 6–8 cm broad; the basal pair of leaflets much smaller, 5–8 cm long, the margins of the leaflets entire. The male flowers are in drooping [[catkin]]s 5–10 cm long, the female flowers terminal, in clusters of two to five, ripening in the autumn into a [[fruit]] with a green, semi-fleshy husk and a brown corrugated [[nut (fruit)|nut]]. The whole fruit, including the husk, falls in autumn; the [[seed]] is large, with a relatively thin shell, and edible, with a rich flavour.
==Cultivation and uses==
Persian walnut is originaly from Iran where it still can be found in nature and also is widely cultivated. The English Walnut was introduced into western and northern [[Europe]] very early, by [[Roman Empire|Roman]] times or earlier, and to [[the Americas]] by the 17th century. Important nut-growing regions include [[France]], [[Serbia]], [[Greece]], [[Bulgaria]], and [[Romania]] in Europe, [[China]] in Asia, [[California]] in North America, and [[Chile]] in South America. It is cultivated extensively for its high-quality nuts, eaten both fresh and pressed for their richly flavoured oil; numerous [[cultivar]]s have been selected for larger and thin-shelled nuts.
The [[wood]] is also of very high quality—similar to American [[Black Walnut]]—and is used to make furniture and rifle stocks.
==Nutritional value==
[http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/ 100 g shelled walnuts provide]:
*15.2 g [[protein]]
*65.2 g [[fat]]:
**6.1 g [[saturated fat]]
**8.9 g [[monounsaturated fat]]
**47.2 g [[polyunsaturated fat]]
*13.7 g [[carbohydrates]], including 6.7 g [[dietary fiber]]
*0.34 mg [[Thiamin]]
*0.54 mg [[Vitamin B6|Vitamin B<sub>6</sub>]]
*98 µg [[Folate]]
*3.4 mg [[Manganese]]
*1.6 mg [[Copper]]
*158 mg [[Magnesium]]
*346 mg [[Phosphorus]]
*3.1 mg [[Zinc]]
==Etymology and other names==
The scientific name ''Juglans'' is from [[Latin]] ''jovis glans'', "[[Jupiter (god)|Jupiter]]'s nut", and ''regia'', "royal". Its common name, Persian walnut, indicates its origins in [[Iran|Persia]] in southwest Asia; 'walnut' derives from the [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] ''wal-'' for "foreign", recognising that it is not a nut native to northern Europe.
Other names include Walnut (which does not distinguish the tree from other species of Juglans), Common Walnut and English Walnut, the latter name possibly because English sailors were prominent in ''Juglans regia'' nut distribution at one time.[http://www.agmrc.org/agmrc/commodity/nuts/englishwalnut/englishwalnutsprofile.htm] In the [[Chinese language|Chinese]] and [[Korean language|Korean]] languages, the edible, cultivated walnut is called 胡桃 (''hú táo'' in Mandarin or 호두 ''hodu'' in Korean), which means literally "Hu peach," suggesting that the ancient Chinese associated the introduction of the English walnut into East Asia with the [[Wu Hu|Hu]] barbarians of the regions north and northwest of China.
==Folklore==
In [[Skopelos]], a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, local legend suggests that whoever plants a walnut tree will die as soon as the tree can "see" the sea. This has not been proven as fact, however it might take some time to find a local arborist willing to take on the job of planting a walnut tree. Most planting is done by field rats (subfamily [[Murinae]]).
==References==
{{commons|Juglans regia}}
*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200006112 Flora of China: ''Juglans regia'']
*[http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Juglans+&SPECIES_XREF=regia&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= Flora Europaea: ''Juglans regia'']
*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200006112 Flora of Pakistan: ''Juglans regia'']
*Hemery, G. E. (1998). Walnut seed-collecting expedition to Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia. ''Quarterly Journal of Forestry'' 92 (2): 153-157.
<gallery>
Image:Walnut02.jpg|English Walnut nuts
Image:Shelled English Walnuts 2331px.jpg|Shelled walnuts in a cup
Image:Koeh-081.jpg|19th century illustration
Image:Juglans regia Broadview.jpg|English Walnut foliage and nuts
</gallery>
[[Category:Fagales]]
[[Category:Flora of Central Asia]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = English Walnut
| image = English Walnuts.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Whole and shelled ''J. regia''
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Fagales]]
| familia = [[Juglandaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Walnut|Juglans]]''
| species = '''''J. regia'''''
| binomial = ''Juglans regia''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
The '''English Walnut''' (''Juglans regia''), also known as '''Common Walnut''' or '''Persian Walnut''', is a species of [[walnut]] that is native in a region stretching from the [[Balkans]] (in southeast [[Europe]]) eastward — all the way to the [[Himalaya]]s and southwest [[China]]. The largest forests are in [[Kyrgyzstan]], where English Walnut trees occur in extensive, nearly pure walnut forests at 1,000–2,000 m altitude (Hemery 1998)—notably at [[Arslanbob]] in [[Jalal-Abad Province]].
English Walnut is a large deciduous [[tree]] attaining heights of 25–35 m, and a trunk up to 2 m diameter, commonly with a short trunk and broad crown, though taller and narrower in dense forest competition. It is a light-demanding species, requiring full sun to grow well.
The bark is smooth, olive-brown when young and silvery-grey on older branches, with scattered broad fissures with a rougher texture. Like all walnuts, the [[pith]] of the twigs contains air spaces, the chambered pith brownish in colour. The [[leaf|leaves]] are alternately arranged, 25-40 cm long, odd-pinnate with 5–9 leaflets, paired alternately with one terminal leaflet. The largest leaflets the three at the apex, 10–18 cm long and 6–8 cm broad; the basal pair of leaflets much smaller, 5–8 cm long, the margins of the leaflets entire. The male flowers are in drooping [[catkin]]s 5–10 cm long, the female flowers terminal, in clusters of two to five, ripening in the autumn into a [[fruit]] with a green, semi-fleshy husk and a brown corrugated [[nut (fruit)|nut]]. The whole fruit, including the husk, falls in autumn; the [[seed]] is large, with a relatively thin shell, and edible, with a rich flavour.
==Cultivation and uses==
Persian walnut is originaly from Iran where it still can be found in nature and also is widely cultivated. The English Walnut was introduced into western and northern [[Europe]] very early, by [[Roman Empire|Roman]] times or earlier, and to [[the Americas]] by the 17th century. Important nut-growing regions include [[France]], [[Serbia]], [[Greece]], [[Bulgaria]], and [[Romania]] in Europe, [[China]] in Asia, [[California]] in North America, and [[Chile]] in South America. It is cultivated extensively for its high-quality nuts, eaten both fresh and pressed for their richly flavoured oil; numerous [[cultivar]]s have been selected for larger and thin-shelled nuts.
The [[wood]] is also of very high quality—similar to American [[Black Walnut]]—and is used to make furniture and rifle stocks.
==Nutritional value==
[http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/ 100 g shelled walnuts provide]:
*15.2 g [[protein]]
*65.2 g [[fat]]:
**6.1 g [[saturated fat]]
**8.9 g [[monounsaturated fat]]
**47.2 g [[polyunsaturated fat]]
*13.7 g [[carbohydrates]], including 6.7 g [[dietary fiber]]
*0.34 mg [[Thiamin]]
*0.54 mg [[Vitamin B6|Vitamin B<sub>6</sub>]]
*98 µg [[Folate]]
*3.4 mg [[Manganese]]
*1.6 mg [[Copper]]
*158 mg [[Magnesium]]
*346 mg [[Phosphorus]]
*3.1 mg [[Zinc]]
==Etymology and other names==
The scientific name ''Juglans'' is from [[Latin]] ''jovis glans'', "[[Jupiter (god)|Jupiter]]'s nut", and ''regia'', "royal". Its common name, Persian walnut, indicates its origins in [[Iran|Persia]] in southwest Asia; 'walnut' derives from the [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] ''wal-'' for "foreign", recognising that it is not a nut native to northern Europe.
Other names include Walnut (which does not distinguish the tree from other species of Juglans), Common Walnut and English Walnut, the latter name possibly because English sailors were prominent in ''Juglans regia'' nut distribution at one time.[http://www.agmrc.org/agmrc/commodity/nuts/englishwalnut/englishwalnutsprofile.htm] In the [[Chinese language|Chinese]] and [[Korean language|Korean]] languages, the edible, cultivated walnut is called 胡桃 (''hú táo'' in Mandarin or 호두 ''hodu'' in Korean), which means literally "Hu peach," suggesting that the ancient Chinese associated the introduction of the English walnut into East Asia with the [[Wu Hu|Hu]] barbarians of the regions north and northwest of China.
==Folklore==
In [[Skopelos]], a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, local legend suggests that whoever plants a walnut tree will die as soon as the tree can "see" the sea. This has not been proven as fact, however it might take some time to find a local arborist willing to take on the job of planting a walnut tree. Most planting is done by field rats (subfamily [[Murinae]]).
==References==
{{commons|Juglans regia}}
*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200006112 Flora of China: ''Juglans regia'']
*[http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Juglans+&SPECIES_XREF=regia&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= Flora Europaea: ''Juglans regia'']
*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200006112 Flora of Pakistan: ''Juglans regia'']
*Hemery, G. E. (1998). Walnut seed-collecting expedition to Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia. ''Quarterly Journal of Forestry'' 92 (2): 153-157.
<gallery>
Image:Walnut02.jpg|English Walnut nuts
Image:Shelled English Walnuts 2331px.jpg|Shelled walnuts in a cup
Image:Koeh-081.jpg|19th century illustration
Image:Juglans regia Broadview.jpg|English Walnut foliage and nuts
</gallery>
[[Category:Fagales]]
[[Category:Flora of Central Asia]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]