Heartnut (Juglans ailantifolia)

Heartnuts are a valuable addition to food forests and silvopasture systems due to their multifunctionality. Their canopy provides shade for understory plants, and their nuts serve as a nutritious food source for both humans and wildlife. Their ability to thrive in diverse conditions, coupled with their ornamental beauty, makes them a standout choice for permaculture designs and integrated farming systems. With proper siting to avoid frost damage, Heartnuts can enhance biodiversity, productivity, and aesthetic value in any sustainable landscape.

Heartnuts grow quickly, establishing themselves as medium to large shade trees with wide-spreading crowns. Their lush, tropical-looking leaves emerge in spring, providing dense foliage through summer. This makes Heartnuts a great firesmart tree. By autumn, the trees yield abundant clusters of heart-shaped nuts, which ripen and drop for easy collection. The tree’s rapid growth and robust root system make it adaptable to a variety of landscapes.

Size at Maturity- Canopy Layer. Reaches 30-50 feet tall with a wide-spreading crown of 40-60 feet.

Current Size- Large 1'-2'+, 1 year old seedling

Heartnuts derive their name from their distinctive heart-shaped nuts, which crack neatly into two halves when opened with the right tools. A Japanese native, the Heartnut has gained popularity in temperate regions for its sweet, walnut-like flavor and ornamental appeal. The nuts are rich in healthy fats and proteins, making them a nutritious food source for humans and wildlife alike. In agroforestry and permaculture systems, Heartnuts serve as shade providers and soil stabilizers, while their annual nut production offers an economic or subsistence yield for growers.