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Walnut trees impress with their imposing size, which can amount to a good 10 x 10 x 10 meters in adult trees. The walnut harvest varies from year to year, but in a good year a walnut tree can carry up to 150 kilograms of nuts. However, these may only be eaten when ripe, because the green nutshell can lead to poisoning.
toxicity
walnut tree
The walnut tree, bot. Juglans regia, grows between 10 and 25 meters high. Since the trees live up to 150 years, they can be found in many gardens. The tree is not harmful to humans. However, people with sensitive stomachs should exercise caution when drinking walnut leaf tea, as nausea and vomiting may occur.
The heartwood of the walnut tree is poisonous to horses. If the animals nibble on them, they can contract laminitis. Although horses are unlikely to nibble on a felled walnut tree, the poison is also in the sawdust. Therefore, you should not let horses graze near a felled walnut tree or make sure that they do not come into contact with the sawdust.
tip: Since the branches of the walnut tree are also poisonous to horses, they should not be offered to the animals to nibble on.
walnuts
The walnut is the fruit of the walnut tree. The well-known walnuts are the kernels of the fruit. They are surrounded by a green shell that turns brown and cracks as it ripens, causing the walnuts to fall out. As long as the shell is smooth and green, the walnut is not yet ripe and not suitable for consumption. However, the unripe nuts are used together with the shell to prepare walnut liqueurs.
If the green, unripe fruits of the walnut tree are eaten, the tannic acid they contain can cause diarrhea or gastrointestinal problems. If the green shell inside is infected with toxin-forming fungi, then toxins form in the shell that can lead to nerve spasms. Since these fungi cannot be seen by the human eye, the green shells of the nuts must not be eaten. Since stored nuts can also be infected by the fungi, you should not eat any nuts that have dark brown to black spots and separate them from nuts that are still healthy.
Infected shells and nuts are also toxic to dogs and cats. Symptoms of poisoning include:
- Vomit
- Tremble
- nerve spasms
tip: The symptoms of poisoning are often confused with epileptic seizures. Therefore, if symptoms appear, you should contact a veterinarian as soon as possible.
But the ripe walnuts are also dangerous for dogs. Chewed shells can lead to injuries in the mouth and in the gastrointestinal tract.