Carya
alba (Linnaeus) Nuttall ex Elliott
Common
names: mockernut hickory, white hickory, white-heart hickory.
Synonyms: Carya tomentosa (Poiret) Nuttall, Carya
tomentosa (Poiret) Nuttall var. subcoriacea (Sargent) Palmer
& Steyermark, Hicoria alba (Linnaeus) Britton, Hicoria
tomentosa (Lamarck ex Poiret) Rafinesque, Juglans tomentosa
Poiret.
Family: Juglandaceae.
Brief
description:
A medium to large-sized, deciduous tree, typically ranging from 20–35
m (65–115 ft.) tall when fully grown. Buds are relatively large (8–20
mm long), and grayish to reddish brown, (tan, after the outer scales
fall), with imbricate bud scales. Twigs are relatively stout. Bark
of mature trunks is gray, with furrows and ridges, but not shaggy.
Leaves are alternate, large (usually 20–50 cm long), and pinnately
compound, with 7–9 (occasionally 5) leaflets. Leaflets are obovate
or oblancoleate to oval or ovate in shape, with coarsely to finely
serrate margins, and are densely hairy on the lower surface. Leaves
produce a pungent odor when bruised or crushed. Petiole and rachis
are persistently hairy. Separate male and female inflorescences occur
on the same tree, the male flowers in drooping catkins, the female
flowers in short, terminal spikes. Fruits are large (3–8 cm long)
nuts enclosed in a thick (4–10 mm) husk that typically splits into
four sections. Mockernut hickory is one of the most common trees in
the North Carolina Piedmont.
USDA
Profile
Herbarium
sheet images:
Live
specimen images:
Individual
leaf Branchlet
with buds Close-up
of buds Close-up
of leaf scar 1 Close-up
of leaf scar 2