Rusty walnut facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Rusty walnut |
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| Endiandra pubens, leaf | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Endiandra
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| Species: |
pubens
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The Rusty Walnut (which scientists call Endiandra pubens) is a cool tree that grows in the rainforests of eastern Australia. You can find it in warm, wet places like valleys near streams. It grows all the way from the Bellinger River in New South Wales up to Bulburin National Park in Queensland.
Even though it's called a "walnut," it's not actually related to the walnuts you eat! It's part of the laurel family, which also includes plants like bay laurel. People also call it the hairy walnut, possum apple, red apple, or whitebark walnut.
Contents
What Does the Rusty Walnut Look Like?
The Rusty Walnut is usually a small, bushy tree. Sometimes, it can grow quite tall, reaching up to 25 meters (about 82 feet) high. Its trunk can be as wide as 45 centimeters (about 1.5 feet) across.
Bark and Branches
The bark of the tree is light grey or a pale fawn color. If you look closely at the smaller branches, you'll see they are covered in rusty-colored hairs.
Leaves
The leaves of the Rusty Walnut are simple, meaning each leaf is a single blade. They grow alternately along the stem. They are shaped like an oval and can be 7 to 20 centimeters (about 3 to 8 inches) long.
The top side of the leaf is shiny green. But the underside is covered in rusty, brown hairs. The leaf stalks, which connect the leaf to the branch, are also hairy. You can see the veins on both sides of the leaf, but they are easier to spot on the hairy underside.
Flowers
In the months of March, April, and May, the Rusty Walnut produces cream or orange-colored flowers. These flowers grow in small clusters called panicles. They have a rusty look and smell a bit like aniseed, which is a sweet, licorice-like scent.
Life Cycle: Fruit and Seeds
The fruit of the Rusty Walnut ripens between October and February. It's a large, fleshy fruit called a drupe. It can be 3 to 6 centimeters (about 1 to 2.5 inches) wide. The fruit can be greenish or a deep red color. Inside each fruit, there is one large seed.
If you want to grow a new Rusty Walnut tree from a seed, it's a good idea to remove the red, fleshy part around the seed. Growing new trees from fresh seeds can be very slow. It often takes a whole year for the roots and shoots to start growing!
Where Does it Grow?
The Rusty Walnut tree prefers to grow in subtropical rainforests. These are warm, wet forests. You'll often find these trees growing near streams in valleys, where there's plenty of water.
