US Plant Patent PP4614
Distinct variety of black walnut tree
PUBLIC DOMAIN
Patent expired September 5, 1998. This plant is in the public domain — anyone may propagate and sell it.
No term adjustment or disclaimer is recorded against this patent, so this is the full statutory term — twenty years from the filing date.
The record
- Patent number
- PP4614
- Filed
- September 5, 1978
- Granted
- January 6, 1981
- Expires
- September 5, 1998
- Assignee
- PURDUE RESEARCH FOUNDATION
- Inventor
- BEINEKE WALTER F
No cultivar name of record
This patent does not name the plant. Through the 1980s and early 1990s that was still common: naming every new cultivar only became standard practice as plants began to be marketed under brand names. The grant identifies this one by its number and by a written description instead.
Nothing here is missing from our records: the patent itself states no name. Where one exists we show it, and we do not invent one.
Abstract
A new and distinct variety of black walnut tree (Juglans nigra L.) which is characterized by rapid growth rate, strong central stem tendency, and outstanding straightness for timber purposes. The nut-bearing habits of this tree are inferior. The pistillate flowers mature very late while pollen maturity is fairly late. In most years there is no overlap in female and male flowering. Flowering begins very late in the life of the tree. The nuts are large and ripen in mid-season. Nut crops occur rarely and are very light. This new cultivar of black walnut tree was discovered by the applicant in Carroll County near Camden, Ind., in a cultivated area. It occurred as a wild tree growing on land managed for timber-growing purposes and was discovered in the course of a search for unique and high quality black walnut trees to be utilized in breeding for outstanding timber qualities. The original tree was cut and sold for high quality veneer. This selection has been designated as BW68 in records maintained on the performance of grafts made from the original selection at Purdue University and will be known henceforth as "Purdue 2".
Show the legal claimThe single numbered claim as granted — the legal text that defines what this patent covers.
What is claimed is: 1. A new and distinct variety of black walnut tree substantially as illustrated and described, which has excellent timber quality, is fast growing, has strong central stem tendency, little sweep, few crooks; late in time of leafing, pistillate flowers very late, pollen sheds late, and a nut crop is seldom produced.
Read the full patent: US Plant Patent PP4614 in full — the complete specification, every figure, and the file history.