Various (somewhat dubious) sources claim that black walnuts, or black walnut husks, or the leaves of the tree, contain elevated levels of iodine.
For example, in 'Catfish, Fiddles, Mules and More', the author writes: 'Iodine in the husks [of black walnut] will stain a handlers' hands brown'.
Or this: http://selfhealthresourcecenter.info/newsletter-archive/blac...
... or one can search in Google Books for 'iodine black walnut' and find numberless similar claims, mostly in modern herbals.
However, I'm not able to find any actual information on the iodine content (if any) of the plant, nor any publication that would suggest that any
science ever indicated elevated levels of iodine in it.
Can anyone find any actual references on this? Or is this bogus? I'm leaning towards the idea that someone long ago jumped to the conclusion that the
plant contains iodine (due to its well-researched antifungal/bacterial/etc. activities combined with its staining), and that this mistaken belief has
become enshrined in many places. After all, black walnut trees don't seem to be dependent on iodine-rich soils.S.C. Wack - 9-6-2012 at 06:27
Is there such a thing as iodine-rich soils? Is there measurable iodide in soil?
It's a very large plant, there is no fucking way.
Would not be surprising if there is little saying how much iodine is in tree parts, regardless of species.99chemicals - 9-6-2012 at 07:26
Iodine rich would probably be around 10ppmwatson.fawkes - 9-6-2012 at 08:36
For example, in 'Catfish, Fiddles, Mules and More', the author writes: 'Iodine in the husks [of black walnut] will stain a handlers' hands brown'.
The pigments in black walnut are all organic pigments, such as juglone, named after the Latin name for the
plant. Searching for "black walnut pigment" will yield more information on exact composition.Morgan - 9-6-2012 at 10:29
My neighbor has a large black walnut tree and I can attest to how long your fingers get stained handling them. I collected some because the outer
husk/hull if left on the nut will sometimes crenate into an interesting looking dimpled pattern when dry. They also kill tomato plants. It took a week
or so for the stain to go away on my hands. There is a video of the powder being mixed with henna I watched some time back when I researched the black
walnut. I don't know if henna or black walnut is perfectly safe. Maybe you could be allergic or the compounds over time harmful to you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pIeZbBe1dQ#t=11m04s
"Plants adversely affected by being grown near black walnut trees have foliar yellowing, wilting and eventually death. Tomatoes are particularly
susceptible. The causal agent is a chemical called juglone, which occurs naturally in all parts of the black walnut." http://www.ppdl.purdue.edu/ppdl/expert/black_walnut_toxicity...
[Edited on 9-6-2012 by Morgan]S.C. Wack - 9-6-2012 at 10:30
Since the thread is here and I decided to post in it,
BTW there is at least one excellent soap that uses the ground shells as gentle biodegradable abrasive, Solopol; it will remove the toughest
soap-and-water-insoluble crap you can't get off your hands, probably better for glass than the kitchen pads. Good luck grinding them up
yourself....good luck opening them even....if you have some device I don't, you can make some money, as the nutmeats sell well...but for unknown
reasons, the nearest raw fruit collection station is so far away that no one collects them here any more for years now, a fair profit could be made if
you have the right tools and no gathering competition.
[Edited on 9-6-2012 by S.C. Wack]bbartlog - 9-6-2012 at 14:07
I knew about juglone. There are in fact numerous black walnut trees on my property, hence my curiosity. Pigs will eat the nuts, which is all I use
them for (shelling them is labor intensive as noted).
Interesting note - one of the plants whose growth is inhibited by black walnut is poison ivy. Essentially every kind of tree on this property has
various specimens with poison ivy vines growing up the trunk (though oak seems to not be favored), but of scores of black walnut trees there is not a
single one with a poison ivy vine on it. The plant is not entirely absent underneath the black walnuts but its growth seems to be stunted there as
well. hyfalcon - 9-6-2012 at 16:53
Native Americans would gather the nuts and make an extraction of the outer hulls. When thrown into still water, it would stun the fish in a given
area and they would be gathered up for the bounty they provide.Morgan - 9-6-2012 at 19:23
