Juglans regia
It is native to Eurasia in at least southwest and central Asia and southeast Europe, but its exact natural area is obscure due to its long history of cultivation.The bark is smooth, olive-brown when young and silvery-grey on older branches, and features scattered broad fissures with a rougher texture.[10] Another native glacial refugium population with high genetic diversity is found on the southern fringes of the Alps in northeast Italy.Taken together these finds suggest that J. regia possibly survived the last glaciations in several refugia, as the compilation of the data shows most likely southern Europe, the Near East, China, and the Himalaya.[12] In the fourth century BC, Alexander the Great introduced this "Persian nut" (Theophrastus' καρυα ή Περσική)[13] in Macedonian, Ancient Greek ancestral forms with lateral fruiting from Iran and Central Asia.Its high-quality fruits are eaten both fresh or pressed for their richly flavoured oil; numerous cultivars have been selected for larger nuts with thinner shells.[15] J. regia is highly diverse genetically, and has been extensively cultivated for possibly as long as 2,000 years in parts of west Asia and southern Europe.[2][11] Its closest relative is Juglans sigillata from western China and the far northeast of India;[16] it differs chiefly in leaves with 9–11 leaflets, and nuts with a much thicker, harder shell.[citation needed] Walnut trees grow best in rich, deep soil with full sun and long summers, such as the California central valley.[21] In 2022, world production of shelled walnuts was 3.9 million tonnes, led by China with 36% of the total harvested, with the United States, Iran, and Turkey as secondary producers (table).The dried lumber is a rich chocolate-brown to black, with cream to tan sapwood, and may feature unusual figures, such as "curly", "bee's wing", "bird's eye", and "rat tail", among others.It is prized by fine woodworkers for its durability, lustre and chatoyance, and is used for high-end flooring, guitars, furniture, veneers, knobs and handles as well as gunstocks.[32] The Latin name for the walnut was nux Gallica, "Gallic nut";[33] the Gaulish region of Galatia in Anatolia lies in highlands at the western end of the tree's presumed natural distribution.
Conservation statusLeast ConcernIUCN 3.1Scientific classificationPlantaeTracheophytesAngiospermsEudicotsRosidsFagalesJuglandaceaeJuglansBinomial nameSynonymsMansf.C. de CandollewalnutcultivarsdeciduousLagodekhi Protected AreasGeorgialeavespinnatecultivarcatkinsKhotanCzech RepublicSariosiyoUzbekistanArslanbobJalal-Abad ProvinceAlexander the GreatTheophrastusnaturalisedSerbiaBulgariaRomaniaBaja CaliforniaCoahuilaMexicogeneticallywest AsiaJuglans sigillataRhagoletis juglandisjugloneherbicidelaminitistonnesUnited StatesTurkeyFAOSTATUnited NationsJuglans hindsiiGlenn CountyZijingfood allergenallergic reactionsEnergyCarbohydratesSugarsDietary fibreSaturatedMonounsaturatedPolyunsaturatedomega−3omega−6ProteinVitaminsThiamine (B1)Riboflavin (B2)Niacin (B3)Pantothenic acid (B5)Vitamin B6Folate (B9)CholineVitamin CVitamin EVitamin KMineralsCopperMagnesiumPotassiumSeleniumSodiumthe National AcademiescaloriesmicronutrientsDaily Valuedietary mineralsmanganesephosphorusB vitaminsthiaminefolatefatty acidsaturated fatsmonounsaturated fatspolyunsaturated fatsheartwoodsapwoodchatoyanceflooringguitarsfurnitureveneersgunstocksSkopelosMurinaeFlanderssayingBeneventostregoneriawitches of BeneventoWitches' SabbathPaolo GrillandiSalvatore ViganòFranz Xaver SüssmayrNiccolò PaganiniStregaGallicGalatiaAnatoliaAlan Mitchellcultivar groupChinese languageCastile