Origin: in Refugio Canyon, Goleta, Santa Barbara County, Calif., by George Rutherford. Introd. in 1942. Bud mutation of Ehrhardt; discovered about 1940 as a large limb. Soft-shelled Santa Barbara type. Nut: resembles parent, but lower quality. Kernel wight is 55% of the nut weight, but the kernel color is poor. Tree: low winter-chilling requirement; starts growth early, even following warm winters; leafs out almost two weeks earlier than Payne. It is protogynous and bears only on the terminals. Subject to sunburn. No longer grown commercially, but walnut researchers often use it to signal the beginning of the breeding season. Fruit:
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