Maybe black walnut? Do the leaves have a pungent, bitter odor when crushed?

I didn't check, but I will

Okay, i've re-examined the leaf of this tree. It is slightly velvety to the touch, and when crushed it is what I would call aromatic, not unpleasant or bitter. It reminds me of something faintly remembered from childhood: we used to pick up green "nuts", probably the outer shell or casing of some sort of nut. I think they were segmented and could be pulled apart. They had this scent. Does this ring a bell with anyone?

Did the nuts look like the ones in the below link?

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:314714}}

Hi Carrie, It's a seedling and I just removed it from where it wasn't supposed to be growing. It didn't have any flowers or fruit on it so I don't know. I did post on the Trees Forum and someone said it is definitely walnut, suggested Butternut/white walnut. Thanks so much. I'm going to look at all these varieties. Probably won't be able to ID it myself anyway. Would these all be native trees?

I should have said sapling, not seedling, right?

Hi again carrie, the ID page i'm reading about walnuts says that the Butternut has opposite leaves. This definitely doesn't, which makes me think you are right! There is a large tree with nuts on it across the street from me, maybe it is from that tree. I will attempt to take photos of that one and maybe pick up a few of the nuts to see if I can id them. Thanks again

Butternut (Juglans cinera) and Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) are both native trees in NY, and what you've got is probably one of them. They both have alternate leaves, don't know what ID page you're reading.

I live in northern NJ and we have both here, although Butternuts are considerably less common than walnuts. I find them difficult to tell apart, unless you have the fruit; Black Walnuts are round, Butternuts are obviously oblong. There are also some other differences in the buds, twig pith, etc. One interesting thing is that if you cut the twig longways the soft inner pith is chambered rather than solid; which is a good ID feature.

If there's a nut tree growing across the street, probably what you have is the same thing. I think the squirrels bury the nuts.

This site has good info on identifying them, although I don't think the pictures of the leaves are terribly representative.

Black Walnut

Butternut

WW

Is it possible that the website is mistaken? or perhaps I"m misinterpreting. I was looking at the illustrations on this page.

http://www.lrconline.com/Extension_Notes_English/pdf/bttrnt.pdf

Looks like the confusion is between leaflets and leaves--anita55's site says the leaflets of Butternut are opposite and those of Black Walnut alternate. Doesn't mention the arrangement of the leaves, just that they are compound. I can't quite tell for sure from the photo, but I think they are alternate?

Both Butternut and Black Walnut have alternate leaves. Hard to say which it is going by these photographs. To be honest I wouldn't have thought walnut at first because the leaves are rounder at the tip than I am used to seeing. But at this point I am leaning toward Black Walnut since the terminal leaflets do not appear well-developed and the terminal leaflet of Butternut usually is. The pith of Butternut is also dark brown, while Black Walnut has a lighter brown pith.

This time of year the leaf scars are usually a good characteristic to go by.

Here is Butternut. Notice the fringe of reddish hairs above the leaf scar.

{{gwi:345281}}

And this is Black Walnut. Notice the lack of hairs and the distinct notch in the top of the leaf scar.

{{gwi:345282}}

Thank you all so much for this interesting information. I went over to examine the "nut" tree in my neighbor's yard. The leaves on that tree are stiff and shiny. Just going by that I would say this small tree is not the same. We also have Bradford pears and dogwood which upon examination all have similar shaped leaves but none have the soft texture of this leaf. The nuts from that tree across the street have green segmented covers, that turn brown on the tree. I broke one open and there is a smooth cream colored nut inside. I will try to post pictures but I don't think anymore that my tree is the same tree. Any other guesses on what else it might be? Thanks!

Looking at your other post, you're right, the tree in your neighbor's yard is a hickory of some kind and I still think your plant is a Walnut. Hickories are also NY natives, there are a couple different kinds, and are very common.

Lycopus's very nice pictures of the walnut/butternut buds are actually one of the best ways to tell the two apart if you don't have fruits. I didn't mention that because it's hard to describe without pictures, but the hairy 'moustache' on the butternut leaf scar is distinctive.

WW

thanks weedwoman. I will keep an eye out for the parent tree since i disposed of the seedling now. We live in a semi rural area and there are nut trees and fruit trees everywhere. I'm sure you're right that it could be a walnut. I want to know the names of everything I see and it's a big job!

It's fun, though. You'll never run out of interesting things to learn about, there's always a new one.

WW