Bye-bye butternut?The butternut butternut: see walnut. butternut Deciduous nut-producing tree (Juglans cinerea) of the walnut family, native to eastern North America. A mature tree has gray, deeply furrowed bark. has a long and impressive history. Native Americans tapped the tree for syrup, used the bark as medicine, and ate the nuts raw or boiled into a buttery vegetable oil. Confederate solders used the husks to dye their uniforms golden brown, leading to the nickname "butternuts See White walnut ." This long history may now be coming to its end. Nearly 30 years ago the fungal disease known as butternut canker canker, small sore on the inside of the mouth. A canker appears as a shallow, whitish ulcer surrounded by a thin, red area. It is tender, sometimes painful, and may occur singly or as one of a group of sores. was first discovered in Wisconsin. It has now infected 90 percent of the trees in its native range, acccording to the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times. Unlike the ubiquitous elms or chestnuts, however, butternuts have never been numerous. Closely related to the black walnut--and sometimes called the "white walnut"--butternuts range further north than their walnut cousins. The spores of the fungus killing butternuts are spread by wind and rain, but researchers have recently discovered more than 17 species of beetles that can carry the spores from tree to tree, the Times reported. And while some protective measures are in place--Minnesota has a moratorium on harvesting healthy trees and the species is listed as endangered en·dan·ger tr.v. en·dan·gered, en·dan·ger·ing, en·dan·gers 1. To expose to harm or danger; imperil. 2. To threaten with extinction. in Canada--there is no advocacy group fighting for its survival. Dale Bergdahl, emeritus professor at University of Vermont's Jericho Research Forest, has issued that call. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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