TERMS & CONDITIONS OF SALE

BLACK WALNUT FLOORING

Black Walnut flooring is known for its distinctive  swirling grain structure. The sapwood is almost white, whilst the heartwood is light brown to dark, chocolate-brown, often with a purplish cast and darker streaks. Unlike most woods, Walnut flooring lightens with age unless a UV coating is applied.

We offer all grades in solid Black Walnut flooring up to 450mm wide as well as 189mm wide Black Walnut engineered flooring.

Solid from £47m2

Juglans nigra commonly known as Black Walnut or American Black Walnut, is a tree species native to eastern North America. It grows mostly alongside rivers, from southern Ontario, Canada west to southeast South Dakota, south to Georgia, northern Florida and southwest to central Texas. The American Black Walnut is a large deciduous tree attaining heights of 100-130 feet (30-40 meters) Under forest competition it develops a tall, clear bole; the open-grown form has a short bole and broad crown. The bark is grey-black and deeply furrowed. The pith of the twigs contains air spaces. The leaves are alternate, 1.5 - 2.5” (3-6 cm) long, odd-pinnate with 15-23 leaflets, the largest leaflets located in the centre, 3 - 4”
(7-10 cm) long. The male flowers are in drooping catkins, the female flowers terminal, in clusters of two to five, ripening in the autumn into a fruit (nut) with a brownish-green, semi-fleshy husk and a brown corrugated nut. The whole fruit, including the husk, falls in October; the seed is relatively small and very hard. While the primary native region of the  American Black Walnut tree is the mid-west and east central United States, the American Black Walnut was introduced into Europe in 1629. It is cultivated here and in North America as a forest tree for its high quality and much prized wood. Nuts are produced more by open-grown trees. American Black Walnut is more resistant to frost than the Persian, also known as English Walnut, but thrives best in the warmer regions of fertile, lowland soils with a high water table. It is a light-demanding species. The wood is used to make furniture, flooring, and rifle stocks, and oil is pressed from the seeds. Nuts are harvested by hand from wild trees. About 65% of the annual wild harvest comes from the U.S. state of Missouri.

Use as food: American Black Walnut nuts are shelled commercially in the United States. The nutmeats provide a robust, distinctive, natural flavour and crunch as a food ingredient. Popular uses include ice cream, baking and confection. American consumers include American Black Walnut nuts in traditional treats such as cakes, biscuits, fudge, and pies during the Autumn holiday season. The nut’s strong nutritional profile leads to uses in other foods such as salads, fish, pork, chicken, vegetables and pasta dishes. Nutritionally similar to the milder-tasting English Walnut, the American Black Walnut is high in unsaturated fat and protein, with no cholesterol. The extraction of the kernel from the fruit of the American Black Walnut is difficult. The shell is covered by a thick husk that exudes a dark, staining, strong-smelling juice. The juice will often be a yellow brown at first, and then rapidly assume a deep black-green colour upon exposure to the air. The shell often protrudes into the meat, so that whole kernels often cannot be obtained. The husk is best removed when green, as the nuts taste better if it is removed then. Rolling the nut underfoot on a hard surface such as a driveway is a common method; commercial huskers use a car tire rotating against a metal mesh. Some take a thick plywood board and drill a nut sized hole in it and smash the nut through using a hammer. The nut goes through and the husk remains behind. To keep the husk juices form splattering, a board or canvas scrap may be used to cover the nut before hammering. The American Black Walnut’s husks are known to leave durable, hard to remove stains on hands and clothing. Before eating or storage, the nuts should be cured in a dry place for at least two weeks. Before cracking, the unshelled nuts may be soaked in hot water for 24 hours in order to soften the shells, but with a proper cracker this is not necessary. While the flavour is prized, the difficulty is preparing the American Black Walnut may account for the wider popularity and availability of the Persian Walnut.

Wood: American Black Walnut is highly prized for its dark-coloured true heartwood. It is heavy and strong, yet easily split and worked. American Black Walnut wood has historically been used for gunstocks, furniture, flooring, paddles, coffins, and a variety of other woodworking products. Due to its value, forestry officials often are called on to track down walnut poachers; in 2004, DNA testing was used to solve one such poaching case, involving a 55’ (16m) American Black Walnut tree worth £2000.

American Black Walnut is among the most valuable wood grown commercially in the American Midwest. It has long been highly prized for its beautiful colour, tensile strength, durability, machining qualities and dimensional stability. Black walnuts are fast-growing and long-lived, sometimes to over 200 years.

Black walnut poses some problems when used in urban landscapes. Although it is long-lived, grows quickly and provides a light, dappled shade, it is prone to wind breakage, and the nuts can be quite a nuisance. The roots of Black Walnut produce a substance known as juglone (5-hydroxy-alphanapthaquinone), that inhibits the growth of many adjacent plants, including Scots Pine, Birch, Basswood, Apple trees, grapes, and Hydrangea. This herbicide is contained in the tree's roots, leaves and nut husks, and the residue remains in the soil for years even after the tree has been removed. However, there are plants admirably resistant to juglone, and they can be grown reliably even underneath this hardy tree.