Butternut White Walnut Wood

Butternut lumber angela raimato 2020 08 07t12 09 54 04 00.

Butternut white walnut wood.

In fact the butternut tree shares the genus juglans with black walnut. Butternut wood is not as hard as black walnut but it is nevertheless valuable for furniture and woodcarving. It is a golden brown member of the walnut family with a cathedral grain pattern that looks like waves breaking on a beach. See illustration below.

Butternut s fruit is more oblong or oval shaped while walnut is nearly round. Oiled the grain of the wood usually shows much light. While the difference is not black and white the wood of butternut is considerably lighter colored than black walnut as well as being very soft and lightweight. Butternut is sometimes referred to as white walnut due to its light color yet similar grain pattern.

The two are very closely related though butternut is lighter in color considerably lighter and less dense. Butternut trees can be distinguished from black walnut by looking at its fruit. Butternut hardwood flooring. Native americans and white settlers harvested the buttery fat left from boiling the nuts giving the plant its name.

People in new england make maple butternut candy. It is often used to make furniture and is a favorite of woodcarvers. Two important past uses of the wood have been for church altars and for wood carvers especially for duck decoys. Butternut is one of north america s most beautiful timbers.