Juglans californica -Socal Black Walnut – small Treepot

Juglans Californica or Southern California Black Walnut, is San Diego’s local native Walnut species. Although not a threatened species it is also not common. It can often be found in wetland corridors along with other tree species like willow, sycamore, and cottonwood, but is hardy and can also be be found in drier areas, slopes, hillsides etc. A  great tree for supporting wildlife, and also hosts the Wandering Tiger Moth.  Black Walnuts are edible and tasty, but hard to crack so a good cracking tool is recommended. Another important note is that the flesh and seed hull contain a powerful dye useful for fabric or even something like henna. Keep this in mind is you want to process the nuts as you’ll need gloves or a towel if you want to avoid staining your hands. On the other hand, it does work very well as a dye if you’re looking for natural dyes!

Black walnut seeds do have an allelopathic effect on the ground around them, which you may be familiar with from Eucalyptus trees. This means the seed hulls contain chemicals which hinder other plants from growing around them. Keep this in mind when planting an understory, plants must be a little farther from the tree’s crown.