Lumber - Walnut Claro

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Description

Claro walnut is the name commonly used by the lumber industry and woodworkers for the wood of the species Juglans hindsii^[1]. The wood is highly figured and has a rich brown color with striking grain patterns, especially in the crotch areas where large limbs meet the trunk. It is used in small quantities to make fine furniture and gun stocks and sold as slabs to make large natural-top tables.

Juglans hindsii is generally found in northern and central California; it is a large tree 30 to 60 feet high commonly with a single erect trunk without branches for 10-40 feet and a crown which can be wider than the tree is tall^[2]. Specimens commonly reach 5-6 feet in diameter near the base of the tree^[3] when given favorable growing conditions.

It is commercially important as a rootstock for English walnut orchards all over the world, both on its own and as a parent to the J. hindsii x J. regia hybrid, commonly called "Paradox." Juglans hindsii is endangered, with possibly only a few native stands remaining.

Some confusion exists about the nature of Claro walnut because Juglans hindsii is commonly used as the rootstock of orchard trees. The section below the original graft is Claro walnut wood while the section above is the lighter-colored English walnut. Some woodworkers have even taken advantage of this by making the change in color of the wood a feature of their work^[4].

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