OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fagales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Carya laciniosa   FAMILY Juglandaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Carya laciniosa   FAMILY Juglandaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Carya laciniosa

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 053-02-007:

Carya laciniosa   FAMILY Juglandaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Hicoria laciniosa

 

COMMON NAME:
Big Shellbark Hickory, Kingnut Hickory


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Carya laciniosa, Big Shellbark Hickory, Kingnut Hickory

Ron Lance    jkm110219_651

        

Note variation in husk thickness & dehiscence, and nut shape, size & sweetness.

image of Carya laciniosa, Big Shellbark Hickory, Kingnut Hickory

Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905)    mtna_i_219

        

image of Carya laciniosa, Big Shellbark Hickory, Kingnut Hickory

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide    pnd_cala21_003_lvd

        

image of Carya laciniosa, Big Shellbark Hickory, Kingnut Hickory

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_hila7_001_lvd

        

image of Carya laciniosa, Big Shellbark Hickory, Kingnut Hickory

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_carya_laciniosa_16

May        

Bark gray, scaly, with long strap-like plates, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).

image of Carya laciniosa, Big Shellbark Hickory, Kingnut Hickory

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_carya_laciniosa_8

May        

Leaf rachises may persist on twig into winter, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).

image of Carya laciniosa, Big Shellbark Hickory, Kingnut Hickory

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_carya_laciniosa_19

June        

Twigs sandy, buff, or orange-brown; terminal bud abruptly tapered, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Carya laciniosa, Big Shellbark Hickory, Kingnut Hickory

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_carya_laciniosa_32

August        

image of Carya laciniosa, Big Shellbark Hickory, Kingnut Hickory

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_carya_laciniosa_7

August        

image of Carya laciniosa, Big Shellbark Hickory, Kingnut Hickory

Ron Lance    rwl_caryalaciniosa

August        

In cultivation

Leaflets 7 (usually) to 9, lance-shaped to obovate, margins finely serrate, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Carya laciniosa, Big Shellbark Hickory, Kingnut Hickory

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_carya_laciniosa_20

October        

Husks about 1/4" thick, lacking wings; seeds edible and sweet, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Carya laciniosa, Big Shellbark Hickory, Kingnut Hickory

Ron Lance    jkm110219_636b

Month Unknown        

Fruits the largest of the genus (to 8cm long!). Husks 8-14mm thick, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Carya laciniosa   FAMILY Juglandaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Carya laciniosa   FAMILY Juglandaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Carya laciniosa

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 053-02-007:
Carya laciniosa   FAMILY Juglandaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hicoria laciniosa

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

273

Tree
Perennial
Monoecious

Habitat: Bottomland forests, hardwood flatwoods, swamps; rarely in mesic upland forests and on rich lower slopes, per Weakley's Flora

Native to North Carolina & Georgia

Uncommon in GA Mountains, rare elsewhere in GA & NC

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

LEAVES:
Deciduous
Odd-pinnately compound: 7-9 leaflets, usually 7
Alternate

FLOWER:
Spring
Staminate calyx 2-3 lobed
Inferior ovary
Unisexual

Staminate flowers in elongate catkins

FRUIT:
Fall
Nut

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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