In 2016 its circumference at breast height was , the height was , and the spread was . The Bush butternut tree was planted by settler George Bush (1845) in current Tumwater, Washington, brought from Missouri. It was seriously damaged in a windstorm in 2015, and collapsed on May 1, 2021, at the age of 176 years. Uses The butternuts are edible and were made into a butter-like oil by Native Americans for various purposes. The young green nuts, while still soft, can be pickled; Bradford Angier recommends this be done with a change of salt water every other day for a week, and a subsequent seasoning of at least two weeks. The sap can be used to make syrup. Lumber Butternut wood is light in weight and takes polish well, and is highly rot resistant, but is much softer than black walnut wood. Oiled, the grain of the wood usually shows much light. It is often used to make furniture, and is a favorite of woodcarvers. Fabric dye Butternut bark and nut rinds were once often used to dye cloth to colors between light yellow and dark brown. The husks contain a natural yellow-orange dye. To produce the darker colors, the bark is boiled to concentrate the color. This appears to never have been used as a commercial dye, but rather was used to color homespun cloth. In the mid-19th century, inhabitants of areas such as southern Illinois and southern Indiana – many of whom had moved there from the Southern United States – were known as "butternuts" from the butternut-dyed homespun cloth that some of them wore. Later, during the American Civil War, the term "butternut" was sometimes applied to Confederate soldiers. Some Confederate uniforms apparently faded from gray to a tan or light brown. It is also possible that butternut was used to color the cloth worn by a small number of Confederate soldiers. The resemblance of these uniforms to butternut-dyed clothing, and the association of butternut dye with home-made clothing, resulted in this derisive nickname. Fishing Crushed fruits can be used to poison fish, though the practice is illegal in most jurisdictions. Bruised fruit husks of the closely related black walnut can be used to stun fish. References External links Vt.edu: Juglans cinerea (Butternut) ID photos and range map United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service: Juglans cinerea fact sheet Photo of fruit with husk removed