Genus
Juglans
The Juglans genus in the Plotwright catalog — 2 species: Black walnut, English walnut. Open any for hardiness, native range, wildlife value, and growing guidance.
Juglans nigra
Black walnut
A large deciduous timber and nut tree of eastern North America, growing 75-100 feet tall with an oval to rounded crown and dark, deeply furrowed diamond-patterned bark. Pinnately compound leaves carry 13-23 strongly aromatic leaflets, and yellowish-green flowers in May-June ripen into hard-shelled edible nuts inside green husks. Its roots and tissues release juglone, a compound that suppresses azaleas, rhododendrons, blueberries, peonies, and tomato-family crops planted nearby.
Juglans regia
English walnut
A large deciduous nut tree native to a wide arc from southeastern Europe through central Asia to the Himalayas, grown for both its prized edible kernels and its valuable wood. NC State Extension lists it at roughly 40-60 feet tall and wide with a rounded, spreading crown, smooth gray bark, and aromatic pinnately compound leaves of 5-9 broad leaflets. Monoecious and wind-pollinated, it bears yellowish-green catkins in spring that ripen into smooth, thin-shelled nuts inside green husks. Like its relatives it produces juglone, an allelopathic compound that can suppress some sensitive plants nearby, though noticeably less intensely than black walnut (Juglans nigra).