Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Carya aquatica
FAMILY
Juglandaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Water Hickory at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Carya aquatica
FAMILY
Juglandaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Carya aquatica
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 053-02-004:
Carya aquatica FAMILY Juglandaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hicoria aquatica
COMMON NAME:
Water Hickory, Bitter Pecan
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Ron Lance jkm110219_651
Note variation in husk thickness & dehiscence, and nut shape, size & sweetness.
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_213
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_caaq2_003_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_hiaq_001_lvd
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_carya_aquatica_17
June
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_carya_aquatica_6
June
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_carya_aquatica_7
June
Bark smooth when young, becoming scaly, shredding into small plates, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_carya_aquatica_3
August
)
Ron Lance rwl269_a
September
Leaves with 9-17 scythe-shaped leaflets, margins finely serrate, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Ron Lance rwl269_a2
September
Fruit a nut, elliptical & flattened; husks 1/16" thick, with yellow scales, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_carya_aquatica_11
October
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_carya_aquatica_2
October
Buds brown or reddish-brown; twigs hairy only at apex, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
Ron Lance jkm110219_639a
Month Unknown
Small brown slightly flattened nuts have grooved surfaces with a thin shell, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Carya aquatica
FAMILY
Juglandaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Carya aquatica
FAMILY
Juglandaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Carya aquatica
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 053-02-004:
Carya aquatica
FAMILY
Juglandaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hicoria aquatica
269
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: swamp forests, where flooded during the winter months, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Coastal Plain (rare elsewhere)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Odd-pinnately compound: 7-15 leaflets, usually 11-13
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!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p043
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p214
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p067
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p212
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p067
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p086
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".