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Juglans Major

The Juglans Major is commonly known as Arizona Black Walnut, Arizona Walnut, as well as Nogal

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Growing Regions

The range of Arizona walnut extends from central Texas westward to southwestern New Mexico and central Arizona [13,24,29]. Its distribution continues southward into northern Mexico, where it is found from eastern Sonora to western Coahuila [30,46]. Several authors [41,44,56] reported that Arizona walnut was found in Colorado; however, Harrington [23] stated that no specimens had been found to support this range extension.

     

General Information

The currently accepted scientific name of Arizona walnut is Juglans major (Torr.) Heller. It is a member of the walnut family (Juglandaceae) [13,46]. Two varieties are currently recognized: J. m. var. major J. m. var. stewartii M. Johnst. [56]. Arizona walnut hybridizes with Juglans microcarpa Berl. in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas [56].

Arizona walnut occurs in pure or mixed stands or as scattered
individuals.  It is dominant or codominant in the southwestern or
interior deciduous broad-leaved habitat series with Arizona sycamore
(Platanus wrightii), Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii), velvet ash
(Fraxinus velutina), and western soapberry (Sapindus saponaria var.
drummondii) [27,28,31,43,53].  Arizona walnut is an indicator species in
the mixed conifer series in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), white fir
(Abies concolor), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), and quaking aspen
(Populus tremuloides) habitat types [2,3,19,21].  Additionally, in
southwestern oak woodlands or chaparral, Arizona walnut is seral
throughout the Emory oak (Quercus emoryi) series and is a minor
component of Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) community type [3,25,34].

Some of the publications that list Arizona walnut as a dominant or
indicator species include:

(1)  Classification of riparian vegetation [16]
(2)  Classification of mixed broadleaf riparian forest in Tonto National
        Forest [27]
(3)  A forest habitat type classification of southern Arizona and its
        relationship to forests of the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico [37]
(4)  Classification of riparian habitat in the Southwest [39]
(5)  Riparian forest and scrubland community types of Arizona and New
        Mexico [52].

Species associated with Arizona walnut that were not previously
mentioned in Distribution and Occurrence information are canyon grape
(Vitis arizonica), deergrass (Muhlenbergia rigens), and common hoarhound
(Marrubium vulgare) [33,52].

Much of the information presented here is attributed to:
Pavek, Diane S. 1993. Juglans major. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available at USDA Forest Service.

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