walnut
Nut Scientific classification Kingdom: Plants Division: Flowering plants Class: Dicotyledons Order: Fagales Family: Juglandaceae
A. Richard ex Kunth
GeneraAldfaroa
Carya (hickory and pecan)
Cyclocarya (wheel wingnut)
Engelhardia (cheo)
Juglans (walnut)
Oreomunnia
Platycarya
Pterocarya (wingnut)
The walnut is the fruit of the walnut tree, and the walnut tree is one of the plants of cold regions and is abundant in the highlands of Morocco , Syria , in northern Iraq , in Iran , in Italy and France .
The pulp of the nut is eaten after removing the hard woody crust, and it is also eaten fresh in the season of its collection at the end of the summer season.
Walnuts are used in the confectionery industry, mixed with nuts, and used in makdous .
Recent studies have also shown that walnuts and nuts have benefits in lowering cholesterol because they contain beneficial fatty acids.
The walnut is one of the most popular fruits in the world, and the nut is of great importance in food and medicine. Its nutritional importance lies in the fact that it contains a very high amount of calories. For example, 500 grams of grated dry walnut fruits contain 3500 calories, meaning that this quantity is sufficient to provide a person with nutritional power for 48 hours. Walnuts also contain large amounts of nut oil, and protein substances that are very similar to animal protein. In addition, walnuts are rich in vitamins (B) and (C) and have a high percentage of phosphorous salts . Eating dried walnut fruits is useful in combating rickets and anemia, noting that it should not be over-consumed because it is difficult to digest and contains high amounts of fat. It has many medical and cosmetic uses.
Nuts are among the most delicious fruits in the fall, and they come to us imported from abroad, although the Ministry of Agriculture has succeeded in planting almonds experimentally in some oases. And the pecan, which is the American nut, is on a farm in the Yellow Mountain, and some of us may be lucky to have a tree in his garden. And if you hold a fresh nut after it has ripened, it leaves a dark stain on the fingers. The reason for this is that the pulpy layer that surrounds the fruit contains tannin, which turns almost black when exposed to air. Walnut trees have been cultivated for so many centuries that we don't even know where they come from. The trees are widespread in the temperate regions of Asia, and their origin may have been somewhere in this continent. It does not endemic to Western Europe, but it was introduced to it in the early ages of history, and the Romans may have transferred it to England.
the tree
The walnut tree may reach a height of 33 to 50 meters, but most trees grown in gardens are much smaller. The tree has a light gray bark, which is smooth in the modern tree, and derives with the tree's advanced age. The tree is not only valuable because of its fruits and wood, but also for its beauty. And the walnut tree needs a moderate climate, and it grows to an altitude of 1000 to 1333 meters in Europe. And at an altitude of 2666 meters in China. Its best growth is in well-drained soil with a calcareous or sandy layer at the bottom. Walnut trees multiply by seed, and by grafting if we want a specific strain. If a walnut tree is planted by seed, it may not bear fruit until it reaches the age of 10 years, but if it is planted by grafting, it bears fruit when it reaches the age of two or three years.
leaves
The leaves are pinnate, i.e. they consist of an odd number of separate leaflets. The leaves are large, smooth, oval in shape, with a flat, non-toothed edge. If the leaves are crushed, a sweet, slightly pungent odor appears.
flowers
The walnut tree is monoecious, meaning that the male and female flowers are found separately from each other, but are borne on the same tree. The flowers are small green, so that one can hardly notice that the tree has blossomed, at the end of spring. The pollen is carried by the wind, so there is no need to attract insects with clear-cut, strong-smelling flowers. The female flowers grow in clusters of 2 to 4 at the tips of the smallest branches. After pollination, the carpels open and ripen, and each of them is a nut. Male flowers are found in small inflorescences drooping on one-year-old twigs. They are green at first, then darken in color, and fall off after they shed their pollen.
the fruit
The nut is a fruit or stone fruit like a plum, and the nut corresponds to the hard kernel of the plum. The fleshy part consists of the outer fruiting shell and the middle shell, while the nut shell is the inner fruiting shell. And inside is the seed. We eat the middle shell of the plum, but in the nut we eat the seed.
production
The fruit ripens at the end of September, and in October, the skin, that is, the fleshy coverings, begins to dry and open. Harvesting begins as soon as the skins open, and this is usually done by beating the branches, with a long stick, until the fruits fall off. Once the nuts are collected, the shells dry quickly, separated from the shells, and then dried before being packed. Most of the nuts come to us from California in the United States, Italy and France, and the Balkan countries, which produce abundant quantities.
black walnut
There are about 17 different botanical species of walnuts, the most famous of which is the genus Juglans regia, which is sometimes called the Ajami or English nut. There are several other types of walnuts in North America, the most important of which is Juglans nigra , which grows larger than any other species, and its wood is soft. And it is used in a special way in making the heels of guns and pistols, and walnut wood does not bend as other woods do.
The benefits of walnuts
Dry nuts are delicious and well-known, and they are high in nutritional value and contain 50 percent oil. They are also rich in vitamins B and C.