Shagbark Hickory

Shagbark Hickory

Carya ovata

Juglandacaeace (Walnut Family)

▲ bark

▲ ▼ leaves

▲ ▼ fruit

▲ fruit (unusual double-fruited husk)

▲ fruit (nut)

▲ ▼ twigs and bud

▲ ▼ fall color

Location on campus: near junction of Normal and Kings streets, in lawn area just west of Kings

Carya ovata: Shagbark Hickory

leaves alternate, deciduous, pinnately compound with 5-7 leaflets; leaflets 4-6" long and 1/2 as wide, oblong lanceolate with serrate and ciliate margins; dark green above and lighter green and glabrous below (pubescent when young); leaves often reliably turn a bright yellow in early autumn
twigs stout, reddish brown to light gray, downy or glabrous with many pale elongated lenticels
bark is gray and platelike with vertical ends of plates splitting from trunk to give “shagbark" appearance-- very characteristic and interesting
grows 60-80' tall and 1/3 to 1/2 as round in upright oval growth habit-- more broad in open areas
flowers green catkins; fruit is large (1.5-3" diameter) globose husk, which splits apart to reveal tan-brown, woody nut-- much favored by wildife and edible for humans
prefers full sun to deep shade, moist, well-drained soils-- often grows largest in well-drained slopes along river bottoms
forms very large, deep taproot when young (2-3' deep when seedling shoot may be 4-6" tall), so not widely available for landscape use, but interesting bark and fall color would recommend its wider use
slow to medium growth rate (faster once past seedling stage)
native to Missouri