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BLACK WALNUT (Juglans nigra)
BUTTERNUT or WHITE WALNUT (Juglans cinerea)
Other names: walnut, American walnut, oilnut.

EXCELLENT

These trees are found in the Midwest, eastern and lower Great Lakes portion of the country. They are very similar in appearance but the black walnut is the better bearing tree for it grows rapidly, reaches diameters of 3 to 5, ft. and an age of more than 200 years. The heartwood of black walnut is highly decay resistant and will remain for years buried in the ground. Butternut is a fast growing smaller tree, lives only about 75 years and decays quickly when dead and fallen. Both trees bear a very hard nut. The wood is highly valuable for lumber. 

There are no reports of recovery of an original walnut bearing tree. Though both trees will heal a wound completely and would likely remain, any tree 100 years old would have been cut for lumber by this time. 

Where the walnuts grow they are probably on private land and permission would be required before being used for bearing trees. The same caution would apply before cutting into a walnut suspected of being an original. These are highly prized trees.