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Name: Gilbert M.
Status: other
Age: 50s
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: 4/21/2003
Question:
I have an English walnut with a 3 segment shell rather than 2 halves. It seems like a real oddity, similar to a 4 leaf clover. Do you have an opinion as to how unusual this might be? I have not found any references about such an odd nut.

Replies:
English walnuts (Juglans regia) are "non-splitting", with one embryo inside the nut. The segments might be considered "artificial" or it is possible for physiological variation. The following might be helpful.

http://caliban.mpiz-koeln.mpg.de/~stueber/thome/band2/tafel_008.html

http://www.newcrops.uq.edu.au/listing/juglansregia.htm

http://www.walnuts.org/about/abt_contact.shtml

http://www.ishs.org/cal/walnut.pdf

Anthony Brach, Ph.D


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