Claro walnut (Juglans hindsii) is a subspecies of the true walnut tree (Juglans spp.) that grows primarily in the Pacific Northwest, from Northern California to Oregon. The trees grow up to 20 meters tall, but are usually cultivated in walnut plantations in a shorter form. A European scion of the Juglans regia variety is grafted onto the rootstocks of the climate-adapted Claro walnut trees, as this species is very high-yielding. This results in hardy walnut trees that bear a large number of nuts, grow quickly, and produce wood with a wide variety of colors and grains, wildly moving marbling figures, and burl growth due to the combination of the two different wood species. The wood can have a wide range of colors, from light brown to dark chocolate brown, often interspersed with gray, purple, or reddish colors. The sapwood, on the other hand, is vanilla-yellow in color and forms a beautiful contrast to the dark heartwood. The grafting point is visible in the wood as a strikingly sharp line, on one side of which the deep dark Claro wood stands out clearly from the much lighter European wood. Beautifully grained, marbled, or burl wood is highly sought after, commands high prices, and is very popular for rifle stocks and woodturning blanks. It is also used in a wide range of applications for high-quality furniture making, musical instruments, knife handles, veneers, woodturning, and other handicrafts. The wood polishes excellent, having high natural durability and chatoyance. As with most burls small voids or bark inclusions may occur, these holes can easily be filled with a drop of CA glue.
