The heartwood of black walnut varies from light to
dark brown; the sapwood is nearly white and up to 8 cm
(3 in.) wide in open-grown trees. Black walnut is normally
straight grained, easily worked with tools, and stable in use.
It is heavy, hard, strong, and stiff, and has good resistance
to shock. Black walnut is well suited for natural finishes.
Because of its good properties and interesting grain pattern,
black walnut is much valued for furniture, architectural
woodwork, and decorative panels. Other important uses are
gunstocks, cabinets, and interior woodwork.
Willow, Black
Black willow (Salix nig‑
ra) is the most
important of the many
willows that grow in
the United States. It is
the only willow marketed
under its own name.
Most black willow
comes from the Missis-
sippi Valley, from Louisiana to southern Missouri and
Illinois.
The heartwood of black willow is grayish brown or light
reddish brown and frequently contains darker streaks. The
sapwood is whitish to creamy yellow. The wood is uniform
in texture, with somewhat interlocked grain, and is light in
weight. It has exceedingly low strength as a beam or post, is
moderately soft, and is moderately high in shock resistance.
It has moderately high shrinkage.
Black willow is principally cut into lumber, which is then
remanufactured into boxes, pallets, crates, caskets, and fur-
niture. Small amounts have been used for slack cooperage,
veneer, excelsior, charcoal, pulpwood, artificial limbs, and
fence posts.
Yellow-Poplar
Yellow-poplar (Liri‑
odendron tulipifera) is
also known as poplar,
tulip-poplar, and tulip-
wood. Sapwood from
yellow-poplar is some-
times called white poplar
or whitewood. Yellow-
poplar grows from Con-
necticut and New York southward to Florida and westward
to Missouri. The greatest commercial production of yellow-
poplar lumber is in the South and Southeast.
Yellow-poplar sapwood is white and frequently several cen-
timeters wide. The heartwood is yellowish brown, some-
times streaked with purple, green, black, blue, or red. These
colorations do not affect the physical properties of theTanoak has straight grain, machines and glues well, and
takes stains readily.
Because of its hardness and abrasion resistance, tanoak is
excellent for flooring in homes or commercial buildings.
It is also suitable for industrial applications such as truck
flooring. Tanoak treated with preservative has been used for
railroad crossties. The wood has been manufactured into
baseball bats with good results, and it is also suitable for
veneer, both decorative and industrial, and for high quality
furniture.
Tupelo
The tupelo group in-
cludes water (Nyssa
aquatica), black (N. syl‑
vatica), swamp (N. syl‑
vatica var. biflora), and
Ogeechee (N. ogeche)
tupelo. Water tupelo is
also known as tupelo
gum, swamp tupelo, and
sourgum; black tupelo, as blackgum and sourgum; swamp
tupelo, as swamp blackgum, blackgum, and sourgum;
and Ogeechee tupelo, as sour tupelo, gopher plum, and
Ogeechee plum. All except black tupelo grow principally
in the southeastern United States. Black tupelo grows in the
eastern United States from Maine to Texas and Missouri.
About two-thirds of the production of tupelo lumber is from
Southern States.
Wood of the different tupelo species is quite similar in ap-
pearance and properties. The heartwood is light brownish
gray and merges gradually into the lighter-colored sapwood,
which is generally many centimeters wide. The wood has
fine, uniform texture and interlocked grain. Tupelo wood is
moderately heavy, moderately strong, moderately hard and
stiff, and moderately high in shock resistance. Buttresses of
trees growing in swamps or flooded areas contain wood that
is much lighter in weight than that from upper portions of
the same trees. Because of interlocked grain, tupelo lumber
requires care in drying.
Tupelo is cut principally for lumber, veneer, pulpwood, and
some railroad crossties and slack cooperage. Lumber goes
into boxes, pallets, crates, baskets, and furniture.
Walnut, Black
Black walnut (Juglans
nigra) ranges from Ver-
mont to the Great Plains
and southward into Loui-
siana and Texas. About
three-quarters of walnut
wood is grown in the
Central States.General Technical Report FPL–GTR– 190