Persian walnut

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Name Variations

 * royal walnuts
 * English walnuts

About Persian walnuts
Wikipedia Article About Persian walnuts on Wikipedia

The Persian walnut has a wrinkled, tan-colored shell that encloses two large, double-lobed halves. Its sweet flavor makes it a delicious choice for out-of-hand eating, as well as a popular addition for all manners of foods sweet and savory. English walnuts are used to produce walnut oil; they also come in candied and pickled forms. Persian walnuts are a potent source of Omega-3 oils.

The Persian Walnut (Juglans regia) is a walnut native from the Balkans in southeast Europe east through southwest and central Asia and the Himalaya to southwest China.

It is a large deciduous tree attaining heights of 25-35 m, and a trunk up to 2 m diameter, commonly with a short trunk and broad crown, though taller and narrower in dense forest competition. It is a light-demanding species, requiring full sun to grow well. The bark is smooth silvery-grey, with scattered broad fissures with a rougher texture. Like all walnuts, the pith of the twigs contains air spaces. The leaves are alternate, 25-40 cm long, odd-pinnate with 5-9 leaflets, the largest leaflets the three at the apex, 10-18 cm long and 6-8 cm broad; the basal pair of leaflets much smaller, 5-8 cm long. The male flowers are in drooping catkins 5-10 cm long, the female flowers terminal, in clusters of two to five, ripening in the autumn into a fruit with a green, semi-fleshy husk and a brown corrugated nut. The whole fruit, including the husk, falls in autumn; the seed is large, with a relatively thin shell, and edible, with a rich flavour.