New Brunswick, throughout Quebec and eastern Ontario.
Maine,—common, often abundant; New Hampshire,—throughout the Connecticut valley, and along the Merrimac and its tributaries, to the base of the White mountains; Vermont,—frequent; Massachusetts,—common in the eastern and central portions, frequent westward; Rhode Island and Connecticut,—common.
South to Delaware, along the mountains to Georgia and Alabama; west to Minnesota, Kansas, and Arkansas.
Habit.—Usually a medium-sized tree, 20-45 feet in height, with a disproportionately large trunk, 1-4 feet in diameter; often attaining under favorable conditions much greater dimensions. It ramifies at a few feet from the ground and throws out long, rather stout, and nearly horizontal branches, the lower slightly drooping, forming for the height of the tree a very wide-spreading head, with a stout and stiffish spray. At its best the butternut is a picturesque and even beautiful tree.
Bark.—Bark of trunk dark gray, rough, narrow-ridged and wide-furrowed in old trees, in young trees smooth, dark gray; branchlets brown gray, with gray dots and prominent leaf-scars; season's shoots greenish-gray, faint-dotted, with a clammy pubescence. The bruised bark of the nut stains the skin yellow.
Winter Buds and Leaves.—Buds flattish or oblong-conical, few-scaled, 2-4 buds often superposed, the uppermost largest and far above the axil. Leaves pinnately compound, alternate, 1-1½ feet long, viscid-pubescent throughout, at least when young; rachis enlarged at base; stipules none; leaflets 9-17, 2-4 inches long, about half as wide, upper surface rough, yellowish when unfolding in spring, becoming a dark green, lighter beneath, yellow in autumn; outline oblong-lanceolate, serrate; veins prominent beneath; apex acute to acuminate; base obtuse to rounded, somewhat inequilateral, sessile, except the terminal leaflet; stipels none.
Inflorescence.—May. Appearing while the leaves are unfolding, sterile and fertile flowers on the same tree,—the sterile from terminal or lateral buds of the preceding season, in single, unbranched, stout, green, cylindrical, drooping catkins 3-6 inches long; calyx irregular, mostly 6-lobed, borne on an oblong scale; corolla none; stamens 8-12, with brown anthers: fertile flowers sessile, solitary, or several on a common peduncle from the season's shoots; calyx hairy, 4-lobed, with 4 small petals at the sinuses; styles 2, short; stigmas 2, large, feathery, diverging, rose red.
Fruit.—Ripening in October, one or several from the same footstalk, about 3 inches long, oblong, pointed, green, downy, and sticky at first, dark brown when dry: shells sculptured, rough: kernel edible, sweet but oily.
Horticultural Value.—Hardy throughout New England; grows in any well-drained soil, but prefers a deep, rich loam; seldom reaches its best under cultivation. Trees of the same age are apt to vary in vigor and size, dead branches are likely to appear early, and sound trees 8 or 10 inches in diameter are seldom seen; the foliage is thin, appears late and drops early; planted in private grounds chiefly for its fruit; only occasionally offered in nurseries, collected plants seldom successful. Best grown from seed planted where the tree is to stand, as is evident from many trees growing spontaneously.