Life Form:

Deciduous tree

Average Height:

50-80'

Bark Characteristics:

Dark gray, finely grooved.

Bloom Characteristics:

Male flowers grow in 2-5 flowered spikes which develop on current year's shoots. Female catkins are 2-3" long and grow from the axils of leaves from the previous season or the inner buds of terminal scales on current year's growth.

Fall Color:

Yellow

Foliage Characteristics:

Pinnately compound with 3-7 leaflets, alternate, oblong, and pointed green leaves with serrated margins. 4-8" long.

Fruit Characteristics:

Pear-shaped and slightly winged near the tip. Nut is thick-shelled and about 1" long. Husk will split halfway to the base. Interior kernel is bitter.

Structure:

Oval

Range:

Central to E. US; E. Canada

Habitat:

Mixed woodlands, bottomlands, wet hammocks, stable dunes, rocky hillsides, 0-800 meters

Description:

The pignut hickory is a native tree which gained its common name when early settlers to the US saw that pigs happily ate its nuts. While pignuts are edible, they are more frequently eaten by animals than humans. In some parts of the US, pignut hickories are grown commercially for their nuts, although shagbark hickories are the more popular hickory nut option.

Hardiness:

-30 - 30 F

Attracts:

Butterflies

Bloom Time:

April to May

Provenance:

Uncertain

Topic:

Trees  Search this

Living Collections  Search this

Common Name:

pignut hickory

broom hickory

swamp hickory

Group:

[vascular plants]

Class:

Equisetopsida

Subclass:

Magnoliidae

Superorder:

Rosanae

Order:

Fagales

Family:

Juglandaceae

Genus:

Carya

Species:

glabra

Accession Number:

2011-1497A

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Smithsonian Gardens Tree Collection

On Display:

National Museum of the American Indian

Data Source:

Smithsonian Gardens

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ax7ec15ebe2-a463-419e-9e63-70528ac859a0

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:ofeo-sg_2011-1497A