T Street Black Walnut

By Tierney R. O’Donnell

Edited September 8, 2025.

With the windows open to an unexpectedly cool August afternoon, I heard the sharp report of a heavy object falling. It was so loud, I almost thought it was a blown tire or a gunshot. A subsequent pop and crackle confirmed the sound was a nut that had fallen from the ginormous walnut tree outside. (As I wrote these words, another walnut sailed past the window, as if the tree was saying, “Peek-a-boo. I see you.”)

Anyone who passes down T Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets cannot fail to notice this magnificent tree. I’m not sure exactly how tall it is. The circumference of the trunk is about twenty-two feet (this is a very rough measurement I took myself with a piece of string which should by no means be considered scientific).

The tree puts off a unique, spicy fragrance. Like if autumn had an aftershave. It reminds me a little of the scent of the eucalyptus trees in the Bay Area.

Heads Up

The falling walnuts make different sounds depending on what they hit on the way down. When the nuts fall directly onto the street, the sound is a sharp crack! When they fall onto the roof of a parked car, they make metallic thonk! I haven’t heard it myself, but I’m told when the walnuts fall onto a car windshield, they make a sound as shrill as the call-waiting music when you’re on hold with the insurance company.

When my husband and I first moved to the South Side, our neighbor warned us not to park under the tree during walnut season. The egg-sized nuts are harvestable September through November, but we’ve seen them start falling as early as May. We avoid parking under the tree as a rule, just in case.

When the nuts fall directly into the street, they’re vulnerable to passing cars. The shells make a popping sound as tires roll over them, like a needle shoved into an over-filled party balloon. Drivers look around confusedly at this sound, slowing their cars and wondering what they’ve run over. The crows are paying attention as well. Huge flocks of these birds are ubiquitous in the downtown skyline, especially in fall and winter. Our neighbor says he’s seen crows deliberately drop walnuts into the street, wait amongst the branches for a car to drive by, then swoop down to gobble up the exposed nutmeat. I’ve heard the jawings and flutterings of crows up in the tree branches, followed by a deluge of nuts thundering onto the roof.

Nuts aren’t the only thing that fall from this majestic tree. I once saw a squirrel plummet from the upper branches to the ground. It seemed like it was ok. Immediately, it launched back into the tree, chittering irately the entire time. One morning, I stood looking out a front window, one of my cats draped happily in my arms. Suddenly, a giant branch crashed down from the black walnut. The cat leapt away, certain it was the end times. I stared disbelieving at the splintered arm of the tree laying across the road. Fortunately, there wasn’t much traffic that morning so the few cars that passed by were able to slow down and weave cautiously around the remains. My neighbor and I donned gloves and dragged as much debris as we could manage to the curb until city staff came to clean up the rest.

As an experiment, I knocked a nut down from a branch. Unlike a lot of the nuts that fall, its hull was still intact. I picked up another nut from the ground whose hull had long since fallen away. I took both inside, removed the green hull from the fresh nut, and scrubbed both vigorously. There were a couple of minuscule larvae wriggling around inside the hull. I admit to emitting a high-pitched “Eeew!” as I dispatched them. It’s interesting how different the color is between the two. The freshly-picked walnut’s shell is a pale browned-butter color. The shell of the walnut whose hull fell off on its own is a rich, dark brown. That darkened color makes sense since green walnut hulls are often used to make natural dyes.

Identity Crisis

Walnuts are in the plant genus Juglans. Within that genus there are multiple different species. There’s some debate which specific species the T Street walnut tree belongs to. According to the Sacramento Tree Foundation’s Magnificent Trees of Southside Park, the T Street tree is an eastern black walnut (Juglans nigra). (Be sure to check out the Foundation’s Tree Tour brochures for tours of South Side and other neighborhoods around Sacramento.) But according to the City of Sacramento’s list of City Maintained Trees, it’s a California black walnut (Juglans hindsii). (For more information about city trees, visit the City’s Urban Forestry webpage.)

I was so excited that there’s a possibility the tree is a California walnut! This is the species of walnut that is native to California. For thousands of years, long before the city was built and the levees were raised, California walnut trees lined the Sacramento river as part of the native riparian woodland habitat.¹ “These trees were the favored nesting sites of the now threatened Swainson’s hawk (Buteo swainsoni).”² In 1837, two years before John Sutter came to the area, Captain Sir Edward Belcher came aboard the H.M.S. Sulphur to chart the Sacramento river on behalf of Great Britain. In his narrative of the trip, Captain Belcher wrote about the park-like belts of trees along the river’s banks. While his main focus was the massive oak trees, our friend the walnut is granted an honorable mention:

The marshy land now gave way to firm ground, preserving its level in a most remarkable manner, succeeded by banks well wooded with oak, planes, ash, willow, chestnut, walnut, poplar and brushwood…at the verge of the banks, oaks of immense size were plentiful. These appeared to form a band on each side, about three hundred yards in depth, and within…they were to be seen disposed in clumps, which served to relieve the eye, wandering over what might otherwise be described as one level plain or sea of grass.³

California walnuts were one of the types of trees that the Indigenous Peoples of this area deliberately transplanted and cultivated as part of their land management system. “The present distribution of the northern California walnut (Juglans californica var. hindsii) is undoubtedly partly due to the Californian’s practice of carrying the edible nuts of this species from place to place. Many individual specimens or small colonies of this rather uncommon tree are located at the sites of former aboriginal campsites in the region to the north and east of San Francisco Bay”⁴.

In her book Tending the Wild, M. Kat Anderson writes that Indigenous Peoples have been practicing “land management systems…for at least twelve thousand years” in California and that these systems “extend beyond the manipulation of plant populations for food.”⁵ Anderson challenges the narratives of later European immigrants that California was an untamed wilderness. Instead, she characterizes California as a “carefully tended ‘garden’ that was the result of thousands of years of selective harvesting, tilling, burning, pruning, sowing, weeding, and transplanting.”⁶ California walnut trees are evidence of this care.

I hope the T Street tree is a California walnut. Native trees and plants are a wonderful link to the history of a landscape and serve as a living memory of what was once here. Even if the tree is not native, I like to think of her as a spiritual descendant of those trees that once stood along the river. I imagine her roots extending down into the same rich soil that sustained them. Black walnuts have both lateral roots that run parallel to the surface as well as a taproot that grows straight down. With the incredible height of this tree, I imagine her taproot growing deep into the soil, down into the groundwater beneath the city. I imagine her drinking from the river and dreaming of the days of her youth.

City of Trees

We don’t know exactly how old the T Street black walnut is. If the tree was planted around the time the surrounding houses were built—from the 1890s through the 1910s—the tree would be somewhere between 105-135 years old. I spoke with Steve Peeples who worked as a City Arborist. Steve told me the City only has records on the tree going back to the 1980s but, based on the tree’s height and size, it’s estimated to be one of the oldest street trees in Sacramento. Street trees are trees “planted in the City right of way, typically in landscape strips between the curb and the front of the sidewalk.”⁷ Steve told me it’s possible that the T Street Black Walnut pre-dates statehood. If the walnut tree is older than California (which became a state on September 9, 1850) it would be over 175 years old!

In a Sacramento Bee article from 1904, Harvey C. Stiles extolled the virtues of planting trees in and around the Capital City. Not all streets and roads were fully paved by the early 1900s. Dust in the summer and mud in the winter were still significant considerations for both residents and travelers. This is evident in Mr. Stiles’ focus on how trees could affect road conditions. He noted that Sacramento’s rainfall is abundant during the winter months, therefore “the most useful trees for roadside shade, are deciduous trees, which are free from leaves during the entire rainy season, when our glorious California sunshine is most needed.”⁸ He had especially nice things to say about walnut trees. This passage from the article feels like it could have been written directly about the T Street black walnut:

Scarcely could a more appropriate tree be found for the endorsement of the Native Sons [of the Golden West] than the California black walnut, “juglans” Californica, for it is a native tree, found growing quite widely throughout the State, succeeding where planted in practically every part of the State, making a magnificent, lofty, but beautifully spreading tree that will undoubtedly endure for centuries.

In no part of the State does it assume such magnificent proportions as in the Sacramento Valley, where the rich soil and abundant moisture supply just the conditions it requires.⁹

Whoever planted this glorious tree knew what they were doing. The tree’s leaf cycle perfectly aligns with the seasons, giving the surrounding houses exactly the protection or exposure they need for the time of year. It’s situated on the north side of T Street, casting considerable shade on the houses directly to the north and to either side of it. This shade is provided from late spring through early fall. The difference is palpable stepping underneath the tree from direct sunlight, the temperature lowering significantly. As the weather cools going into winter, the leaves fall, allowing the sunshine to warm the houses previously sheltered by its shade. In this way, the walnut tree acts as an external cooling and heating system for the nearby houses.

The Taste of Walnuts

While researching this blog I came across this beautifully written article about Sonoma County walnuts¹⁰ by Francesca Preston. It’s a wonderful read and at the end Preston provides a list of ways to encounter and enjoy local walnuts, including a tantalizing passage about an Italian walnut liqueur called Nocino made by Prohibition Spirits. The next time I’m in Sonoma I’m definitely checking that out!

Here in Sacramento, we have our own walnut-infused treat: the black walnut ice cream at Gunther’s. Founded in 1940 by Herman and Iva Gunther, Gunther’s Quality Ice Cream Company moved to its current location at Third Avenue and Franklin Boulevard in 1949. The building was designed by the influential firm of William Koblik and Alfred M. Fisher¹¹ and is one of the beautiful examples of Sacramento’s mid-century modern architecture. One of the building’s most eye-catching features is the large neon sign of a paper-hatted man expertly tossing a ball of ice cream from one scoop to another. His name is Jugglin’ Joe and he was “created in 1949 by the shop’s original owner, Herman Gunther, who promised that if Joe ever dropped a scoop, the ice cream was free.”¹² I’ve always thought Joe looks like what would happen if Danny Kaye and Archie had a baby.

The high content of butterfat is one of the key features that make Gunther’s ice cream the best. The legal minimum percentage of butterfat for ice cream in the US is 10%. Most big ice cream companies have around 12-14%. Gunther’s ice cream has 16% butterfat, the premium percentage. And you can tell from the first cool, creamy bite. Black walnut is one of the original flavors served at Gunther’s.¹⁴ Its flavor is unique and carries a whiff of the spicy scent of a fresh walnut hull. There is a depth and roundness to the nutty flavor that reminds me of smoke and molasses. I highly recommend it as a sundae!

Tree Hero

The T Street black walnut is a neighborhood celebrity. In 2020, the Sacramento Tree Foundation bestowed a Legacy Award on it and posted a YouTube video¹⁵ about the tree.

On a daily basis, I see people stop to admire the walnut tree. Through my windows I can hear exclamations of “That tree is huge!” and “How old do you think it is?” Bicycle groups include the tree on their city bike tours, temporarily filling the street as helmeted heads gaze upwards in wonder.

I hope Harvey C. Stiles was right back in 1904 and that the T Street black walnut lasts for centuries. She’s made it through one so far! One hundred years from now, even with hover cars flying overhead and holograms reaching out of TVs and rockets making day trips to Mars, I hope people still take a moment to pause and look up into her leafy branches. I hope they gently trace the rough scales of her bark. I hope the people living here appreciate her cool shade in summer and open-armed sunshine in the winter. Maybe she’ll drop a walnut at their feet as a way of saying, “Hello. I’m still here.”

Bibliography

1. Anderson, M. Kat. Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California’s Natural Resources. University of California Press, 2005. ↩︎
2. Anderson, M. Kat. Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California’s Natural Resources. University of California Press, 2005. ↩︎
3. Belcher, Captain Sir Edward. Narrative of a Voyage Round the World: Performed in Her Majesty’s Ship Sulphur, During the Years 1836-1842. Henry Colburn, 1843. ↩︎
4. Ornduff, Robert. Introduction to California Plant Life. University of California Press, 1974. ↩︎
5. Anderson, M. Kat. Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California’s Natural Resources. University of California Press, 2005. ↩︎
6. Anderson, M. Kat. Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California’s Natural Resources. University of California Press, 2005. ↩︎
7. City of Sacramento. “Street Tree List.” 2023-2025. https://www.cityofsacramento.gov/public-works/maintenance-services/urban-forestry/urban-forestry-tree-permits/street-treet-list-. ↩︎
8. Stiles, Harvey C. “Trees for Planting Along Roadsides.” The Sacramento Bee, January 15, 1904. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee/179473462/. ↩︎
9. Stiles, Harvey C. “Trees for Planting Along Roadsides.” The Sacramento Bee, January 15, 1904. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee/179473462/. ↩︎
10. Preston, Francesca. “Ode to the Local Walnut.” Made Local Magazine, 2019. https://madelocalmagazine.com/2019/11/ode-to-the-local-walnut/. ↩︎
11. “Ice Cream Firm Will Get New Home.” The Sacramento Bee. April 2, 1949. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee/179844645/. ↩︎
12. California Office of Historic Preservation. “Preservation ePost.” July 2017. https://ohp.parks.ca.gov/pages/1069/files/2017-07_ePost.pdf. ↩︎
13. “PLANT-The Gunther Ice Cream plant.” The Sacramento Bee. January 21, 1950. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee/179846034/. ↩︎
14. Garcia, Philip J. “Cool 50 years for ice cream landmark.” The Sacramento Bee. April 20, 1990. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee/179848137/. ↩︎
15. Sacramento Tree Foundation. “2020 Tree Heroes: T Street Walnut.” Posted June 11, 2020. YouTube video, 2:31. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuwRjMLfqr0. ↩︎