Object Details
Hardiness
-30 - 20 F
Bloom Time
April to May
Ethnobotanical Uses
Shagbark hickory nuts are sweet and edible, and have been eaten raw and roasted by Native Americans and pioneers in the tree's growing range. Hickory nuts and are still grown commercially, although they are much less common than pecans. Some Native Americans also extracted oil from the nuts. The wood is also used to cure or smoke meat.
Provenance
From a cultivated plant not of known wild origin
Accession Number
2011-2854A
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Life Form
Deciduous tree
Average Height
70-90'
Bark Characteristics
Young trees have smooth gray bark, but mature trees have characteristic shaggy bark which peels in long strips.
Bloom Characteristics
Male flowers are catkins (3-5" long), and female flowers grow in short spikes.
Fall Color
Yellow to brown
Foliage Characteristics
Compound, alternate leaves are 8-24" long with an odd number of oblong leaflets with pointed tips and serrated margins. Typically has 5 leaflets, but can have 3-7 which are 3-5" long.
Fruit Characteristics
Oval to round fruit is green, matures to brown, and 1-3" long. When mature, splits into 4 sections. Edible, and ripen in fall.
Key ID Characteristics
Shaggy, mature bark
Structure
Oval
Range
E North America
Habitat
dry, upland slopes to wet valleys
See more items in
Smithsonian Gardens Tree Collection
Common Name
shabgark hickory
Group
[vascular plants]
Class
Equisetopsida
Subclass
Magnoliidae
Superorder
Rosanae
Order
Fagales
Family
Juglandaceae
Genus
Carya
Species
ovata
Data Source
Smithsonian Gardens
Topic
Trees
Living Collections
Link to Original Record
Record ID
ofeo-sg_2011-2854A