Also called shellbark hickory,
although do not confuse with sister-species
shellbark hickory Carya laciniosa,
which is also called that.
The word hickory comes from Algonquian.
Part of
hickory/​pecan genus Carya
in
butternut/hickory/pecan/walnut family Juglandaceae
in
bayberry / beech / birch / oak / walnut order Fagales.
Native to eastern 🇨🇦 Canada, and 🇺🇸 USA central and East.
🗺 Map by county (🇺🇸 USA-48),
🗺 map (North America, Central America),
🗺 today + with climate change (eastern 🇺🇸 USA).
Uses by native peoples
(Ethnobotany database)
Nuts are edible. Its 🪵 wood makes great 🪓 tool handles.
Carya hosts caterpillars of 231 species
of butterflies and moths, in some areas.
Only mature trees have bark in thick rigid shaggy gray vertical strips, barely attached.
This tree produces a
☠︎ toxic[?] substance juglone that prevents some plants from growing under or near them,
although a lot less than produced by cousin-species
◼︎ eastern black walnut Juglans nigra.
Plants native to North America that are resistant to juglone (scroll down).
Our local Wild Ones chapter says that if you are planning to plant a hickory, your hickory will be happier if you choose: