Going Nuts

In need of fresh air after sitting in a lo-o-ong traffic queue we walked round the Bush Estate, finding this tree with rounded fruits.

From its foliage I took it to be walnut but not the Juglans regia, the species which we see in various places around town and which provides our popular nuts. These fruit are huge by comparison, of a different shape and at present nowhere near ripe. There are many species of walnut, all the nuts are edible though flavoured differently. Juglans nigra, the black walnut, which is generally grown for the timber, has slightly longer, narrower, leaflets.

For whatever reason this specimen was planted on the estate, it is an interesting find - we shall return to inspect it later in the season.