Juglans olanchana is a semideciduous tree up to 40 m in height and 1.5 m in diameter, which belongs to the Juglandaceae family. It is found in Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua. It is commonly called cedro negro (Spanish for "Black Cedar" due to its close appearance to West Indian cedar) or nogal (Spanish for "walnut"). The long branches bear twigs tipped with 40–50 cm long, glabrous, pinately compound leaves, darker on the top than on the bottom. The base of the trunk sometimes has buttresses.