Juglans nigra

Eastern Black Walnut

 

Conestoga House & Gardens, 1608 Marietta Avenue, Lancaster PA

 

David Kantner

 

This specimen has a trunk circum- ference of 12 feet and thus is larger than the Black Walnut at Wheatland. The circumference of Valley Forge’s Pennsylvania State Champion, how-ever, is 18.5 feet.  So the Conestoga tree is of county, not state, signifi-cance

 

This amazing species has so much of the toxic chemical “juglone” in its nut husks that these were formerly used to poison fish until the abhorrent practice was made illegal.

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Note:  Possible Pennsylvania penalties for the above crime include a base fine of $75-$250; additional fines of $20 per fish; and imprisonment of 20-90 days.