Heartnut seeds

Heartnut (cordate walnut) / Juglans cordiformis Max - naturally grows with Siebold's walnut in the forests of Japan on the island of Honshu and others. Reaches a height of 15-18 m. The bark of the trunk is light gray, the shoots are brownish, pubescent, sticky, the apical buds on them are large, up to 2 cm long. The leaves are very large, 50-100 cm long, with 11-15 leaves. The latter are asymmetrical, oblong-oval, pointed at the apex, almost sessile or on short petioles, glabrous on the upper side, pubescent along the veins on the lower side. They reach a length of 6-18 cm and a width of 3-5 cm.

Earrings with stamen flowers up to 20 cm long and 1 cm thick. There are 20-25 stamens in a flower. Pistillate flowers 8-12 pcs. in racemes, stigmas are long pink-red.

Fruits in racemes of 7-12 pieces, outercarp (pericarp) of green color, glandular-pubescent, up to 5 cm long and 4 cm wide. Endocarp (nut) up to 4 cm long and 3 cm wide, cordate with an elongated apex , light brownish-brown with a smooth thin shell and two slightly prominent seams.

The mass of the endocarp is 4-5 grams, the yield of the kernel is up to 30% of the mass of the endocarp, it is tasty, the fat content is 64-67%. In terms of the value of the fruits, the cordate nut also does not differ from the walnut, and even surpasses the fruits of the latter in taste.

The fruits ripen in September, they are cleaned from the pericarp and stored in a dry, cool room. In cultivation, the cordate walnut is less common than the Siebold walnut, although it deserves more attention due to its yield, high quality of the fruit and exceptional decorativeness due to its lush crown, large leaves, flowers with bright red stigmas and grape-shaped fruits.

The cordate nut is distinguished by its ability to purify the air from gasoline and acetylene fumes. Therefore, this species, like other types of nuts, is especially advisable to plant in places contaminated with these secretions.

When creating forest cultures and park groups, the cordate walnut should not be mixed, like other types of walnuts, with native trees of the 1st tier and with fast-growing trimming species. In this regard, the same rules should be followed as when growing walnuts. The distance between trees should be at least 10 m.

Propagated by sowing seeds, as well as vegetatively - by grafting, budding. In mid-January, the seeds are stratified for spring sowing. It is most advisable to sow immediately to a permanent place, since the cordate walnut does not tolerate transplanting seedlings. The depth of seeding when sowing is not more than 5-6 cm.