Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Carya tomentosa
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 Mockernut Hickory at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Carya tomentosa
FAMILY
Juglandaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Carya tomentosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Carya alba
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 053-02-009:
Carya tomentosa FAMILY Juglandaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hicoria alba
COMMON NAME:
Mockernut Hickory, White Hickory
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux dcp34_p21a
There's been confusion and controversy for centuries over the specific epithet, per Weakley's Flora.
)
Ron Lance jkm110219_651
Note variation in husk thickness & dehiscence, and nut shape, size & sweetness.
)
JK Marlow jkm191222_2362_c_tomentos
Clay County AL
Cheaha State Park
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_220
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_carya_tomentosa_12
January
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JK Marlow jkm0402c_03
February Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Bark is gray, fissured and ridged in a netlike pattern, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm160328_003
March Greenville County SC
Staminate catkins pedunculate, to 14 cm, stalks and bracts hirsute, scaly, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm160328_165
March Greenville County SC
Staminate flowers in prominent cylindrical catkins, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm210309_8889
March Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm240312_7701
March Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm240312_7703
March Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm0204m_21
April Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm230606_3871
June Greenville County SC
Leaves aromatic; rachis hairy, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm230606_3872
June Greenville County SC
Leaflets below with acicular (single) and abundant 2-8-rayed fascicled and multiradiate hairs, per Weakley's Flora (2023).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_carya_tomentosa_15
June
Stout hairy twigs and pale terminal buds, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_carya_tomentosa_8
June
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_carya_tomentosa
July
)
JK Marlow s050807_cd
August Greenville County SC
Usually 7 leaflets, varying in size; margins coarsely or finely toothed, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm0509i_23
September Greenville County SC
Fruit up to 2" long and rounded, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
Ron Lance jkm110219_646b
Month Unknown
Husk 1/4-3/8" thick, hard, freely splitting to the base. Shell angled, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Carya tomentosa
FAMILY
Juglandaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Carya tomentosa
FAMILY
Juglandaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Carya tomentosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Carya alba
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 053-02-009:
Carya tomentosa
FAMILY
Juglandaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hicoria alba
279
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: forests and woodlands, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Odd-pinnately compound: 5-9 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!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p043
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p281
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p216
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p072
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p221
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p068
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p153
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p12
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p231
- 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".