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 ovata   FAMILY Juglandaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Carya ovata   FAMILY Juglandaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Carya ovata var. ovata

INCLUDING Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)

Carya ovata var. fraxinifolia

INCLUDING Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)

Carya ovata var. nuttallii

INCLUDING Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)

Carya ovata var. ovata

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 053-02-006:

Carya ovata   FAMILY Juglandaceae

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

Hicoria ovata

 

COMMON NAME:
Common Shagbark Hickory


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

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux    dcp34_p22

        

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

Ron Lance    jkm110219_651

        

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

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

JK Marlow    jkm191222_2364_c_ovata

    Clay County    AL

Cheaha State Park

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905)    mtna_i_215

        

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905)    mtna_i_217

        

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service    pnd_caov2_002_lhd

        

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide    pnd_caov2_005_lvd

        

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_hiov2_001_lvd

        

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_carya_ovata_13

January        

Twigs stout, slightly hairy, with large loosely scaled buds, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_carya_ovata_2

January        

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

JK Marlow    jkm0504d_16

April    McCormick County    SC

Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

JK Marlow    jkm180408_1083

April    McCormick County    SC

Parks Mill

Opened bud scales can be reminiscent of flowers. Note last year's leaf rachises.

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

Sam Pratt    sbp_040722_image4

April    Spartanburg County    SC

In cultivation

Large terminal buds covered by several very loose brown scales, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_carya_ovata

June        

Crushed lvs w faint apple smell unlike other hickories. Petioles pubescent, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_c_ovata_polk_co_3

August    Polk County    GA

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

JK Marlow    jkm150927_191

September    Henderson County    NC

Bearwallow Mountain

Husk is thick and splits free from the nut, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

JK Marlow    jkm150927_197

September    Henderson County    NC

Bearwallow Mountain

Leaves with minute tufts of hair on margins, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

JK Marlow    jkm150927_201

September    Henderson County    NC

Bearwallow Mountain

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

JK Marlow    jkm150927_203

September    Henderson County    NC

Bearwallow Mountain

Fruit nearly globular, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_c_ovata_1_bark

December    Floyd County    GA

Dark gray bark, exfoliating in long narrow plates oft detached at both ends, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Carya ovata, Common Shagbark Hickory

Ron Lance    jkm110219_639b

Month Unknown        

Nut nearly round, shell angled, husk 1/4-3/8" thick and splitting to base, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

 

 

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

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Carya ovata   FAMILY Juglandaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Carya ovata var. ovata

INCLUDING Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Carya ovata var. fraxinifolia

INCLUDING Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Carya ovata var. nuttallii

INCLUDING Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Carya ovata var. ovata

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 053-02-006:
Carya ovata   FAMILY Juglandaceae

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

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

276

Tree
Perennial
Monoecious

Habitat: Rich moist bottomlands, slopes, occasionally on dry upland flats, per Weakley's Flora

Native to North Carolina & Georgia

Uncommon (rare in GA Coastal Plain)

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

LEAVES:
Deciduous
Odd-pinnately compound: 5 leaflets (usually)
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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