An interesting article from this web site.
http://www.clarowalnutgunstocks.com/History.htmClaro Black Walnut is not native to California. General Bidwell, the founder of the city of Chico, imported seed stock from Greece and Turkey. These trees were planted, mostly for shade, along highways, roads, and city streets, as well as around buildings and farm yards. Over the course of the last 100 years or so, the nuts from these trees have been distributed by creeks and rivers, as well as by animals and man, to as far away as the San Francisco Bay area. As a result Claro Black
Walnut can now be found all over Northern California.
Claro Black Walnut is a shorter tree than its eastern cousin, American Black Walnut, and is much more colorful with its rich variations of browns and reds. Its hardness is nearly the same as American Black Walnut. No two slabs are alike, making each blank truly unique.
