Arkansas Tree Database

Scientific name:

Carya Aquatica

Size:

90' tall

Leaves:

alternate, odd-pinnately compound, 9"-15" long with 7-13 toothed scythe-shaped leaflets, similar to pecan

Flowers:

inconspicuous

Fruit:

usually in clusters, thin flattened husk splitting along four winged seams; nut 4-angled and flattened with very bitter inedible kernel

Fall Interest:

yellow; deciduous

Culture:

sun to partial sun; low, wet flatlands, bottomlands, swamp habitat that provides natural flood control

Disease/Insect:

Use:

moth host plant, such as for the luna moth and the regal moth whose caterpillar is called hickory horned devil; low quality lumber

Cultivars:

Notes:

bark gray-brown and splitting into long loose plate-like shaggy scales; important for cleansing drainage waters; flat nuts can float, aiding their distribution; native to Arkansas