Description

The heart shape of the husk of the Black walnut tree is the subject of this art piece.  Juglans nigra, the eastern black walnut, is a species of a flowering tree in the walnut family, Juglandaceae, and is native to eastern North America.

The male and female components occur on the same tree. Imagine the two seeds born out of love between the male and female flowers that occur on the same tree (monoecious species) in a pod that is heart shaped. It is as if the love affair of the two seeds are within the same heart. The seeds unfortunately have been removed, likely by squirrels who tore into the heart out of the heart shaped pod – how cruel nature can sometimes be? –  But squirrels will  travel miles, and will will dig dig deep to retrieve the glorious tasty reward for their tenacious effort.

Another artistic element of the heart shape seed is a surprising similarity to the face of an owl.

The male male flowers, (catkins), originate from the prior year’s twig growth.  The smaller female flowers develop from current season’s stem growth.  The flowering occurs in mid to late spring coincident with the appearance of the foliage.

Ripening  into a fruit (nut) occurs in the fall and consists of an inner kernel consisting of two fused halves. They are surrounded by a thick outer husk This is green when immature, and yellow-black when ripe. With time a hard corrugated shell develops.

In October the fruit falls off the tree.  The seed  is hard and small measuring between 5 to 7 mm.  The husk measures about 2.5 by 3.5cms.

 

The natural range of the Black walnut (Juglans nigra) is in the central and eastern states of the USA.  It is is one of six walnut species found in the United States;

The wood of the black walnut tree has been highly desirable for furniture and cabinet making.  It resists splitting as it dries, seldom decays, has a deep unique color.