Master Gardener Program
Erika Johnson, Program Coordinator
erika.d.johnson@wsu.edu
(564) 397-5738
Catalog of Trees
White Walnut HT3
Tree Statistics
Common Name: White Walnut, aka Butternut
Botanical Name: Juglans cinera
Trunk DBH (diameter at breast height: 171.6 inches
Height: 94 feet
Spread: 91 feet
Latitude: 45.849530
Longitude: -122.558702
Heritage Tree ID: HT3
Tree Location
North of Battle Ground
11114 NE 314th Street
Battle Ground, WA 98604
View in Google Maps
About This Species
The White Walnut, also known as a Butternut (juglans cinerea) is mainly found in the eastern part of the U.S. In the Pacific Northwest, the tree is found in the Columbia River basin as an off-site species. An “off-site” or “non-native” species means that this tree would not normally occur in our area.
Butternut is a food source for birds, browsers, insect pollinators, and small mammals. The wood can be used for cabinet lumber. The nuts are edible, oily, and go rancid fast so they must be harvested quickly. Indigenous people used oil from the nuts for many uses. The husks from the nuts have a brown stain that can be used for a yellow or orange dye.
The butternut’s leaf out in spring is tied to photoperiod rather than air temperature and occurs when daylight length reaches 14 hours. Male flowers are inconspicuous, yellow-green slender catkins that develop from auxiliary buds. Female flowers are short terminal spikes on current year’s shoots. Each female flower has a light pink. Flowers of both sexes do not usually mature simultaneously on any individual tree.
This Tree’s History
This tree is a majestic example of an off-site species found in the Pacific Northwest. It is beautifully located on the Ficht Family Farm, established around 1901 and it is now owned by Jerry Barnes. It is located on eighty acres of property near Lewisville Park, outside of Battle Ground. The original owners migrated from Idaho sometime before 1920 and built the homestead farmhouse which still stands. It is believed they brought a butternut seedling with them from Idaho.
In about 1920 Oscar and Lillian Fitcht purchased the acreage. Family history has it that Oscar planted this particular Butternut Tree located near the farmhouse. Oscar and Lillian lived about 22 years in the original homestead.
In 1963 Oscar’s son Curtis and his wife, Dorothy inherited the Ficht Family Farm. Family members maintain and enjoy working on the property and are currently renovating the pre-1920 homestead. The view from the large tree is a scenic landscape of the Mason Creek drainage to the west.
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| WSU Clark County Master Gardener Program 1919 NE 78th Street • Vancouver, WA 98665 (564) 397-5738 |
