Arkansas Tree Database

Scientific name:

Carya Glabra

Size:

50'-60' tall

Leaves:

alternate, odd-pinnately compound, 6"-12" long with 5, sometimes 7, finely toothed smooth lance-shaped pointed leaflets, with terminal leaflet largest

Flowers:

inconspicuous

Fruit:

pear-shaped to rounded at the base, 1"-2" long, with thin husk only partly splitting, thick-shelled, with nut that is eaten by many different wildlife species

Fall Interest:

rich golden yellow; deciduous

Culture:

full sun to partial sun; rich, medium moisture, well-drained soil

Disease/Insect:

Use:

shade tree; moth host plant, such as for the luna moth and the regal moth whose caterpillar is called the hickory horned devil; heavy, hard, strong, flexible wood good for tool handles

Cultivars:

Notes:

bark gray and smooth when young, variable when older with interlacing ridges or peeling into narrow strips but not so much as in shagbark hickory; early settlers learned pigs would eat the nuts, although they taste bitter to humans; settlers split saplings to make brooms; native to Arkansas