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Carya tomentosa
Mockernut Hickory, Big Bud Hickory, White Hickory, Whiteheart Hickory, Hognut, Bullnut

This plant is not currently for sale.  This is an archive page preserved for informational use.  

Mockernut Hickory is the most abundant of the Hickories in its range in the Eastern U.S., and one of the most long-lived, reaching up to 500 years of age. This is a fifty- to one hundred-foot tall, slow-growing tree, with a straight trunk up to three feet across and spreading branches. Trunk bark of adult Mockernut Hickory is dark gray to brown and coarse, with irregular, intertwining furrows. The wood of the Mockernut Hickory (like the other Hickories) is valued for its strength, hardness and flexibility. The toughness of its wood made this tree very important to the Cherokee nation, who used the Mockernut Hickory to make tool handles and arrow shafts. The wood is still used today for a range of implements for the same reasons. Mockernut Hickory produces good crops of relatively large nuts, which are an extremely important food for wildlife. Although the nutmeat is edible and sweet, it is difficult to remove, giving rise to its common name.

Last Updated: November 27, 2021

Key Info

Scientific Name: Carya tomentosa (Lam.) Nutt.
Common Names: Mockernut Hickory, Big Bud Hickory, White Hickory, Whiteheart Hickory, Hognut, Bullnut
Family Name: Juglandaceae (Walnut Family)
Plant Type: Tree / Shrub
Uses: Shade tree
Light Requirement: Full sun, Partial/sunny, Partial/shady
Moisture Requirement: Dry, Medium, Moist well drained
Leaf Retention: Deciduous
Flower Color: Yellowish green, inconspicuous
Special Characteristics: Good fall color, Tolerates shade, Long lived, Excellent timber, Tolerates Black Walnuts, Excellent wildlife food, Edible seeds

Additional Info

Habit: Tall tree with oblong crown, dark bark is riddged
Height: 50'-100'
Spread: 40'-60'
Growth Rate: Slow
Soil Conditions: average to moist, fine to coarse loams, clays, and sands; best on deep, fertile loam
Leaves: Mockernut leaf petioles, rachises and young shoots are distinctive among the hickories in that they are much more hairy. Leaves are pinnately compound, 9-20 inches long with 7-9 (rarely 5) leaflets. Individual leaflets are lanceolate-elliptic to obovate in shape with serrated margins. Leaflet upper surfaces are medium green to yellowish green while lower surfaces are pale green. Good golden fall color.
Flowers (or reproductive structures): Flowering is monoecious. Male flowers are catkins 4-5 inches long, drooping in groups of 3, produced on branches from axils of leaves of the previous season. The female flowers appear inclusters of 3-5 in short spikes on branch ends of the current year.
Fruit: Fruits are solitary or paired, roundish, 1-3.5 inches long, developing from female flowers of trees at least 25 years old. The fruit has a thick, four-ribbed husk which splits open to release the seed, which is edible and sweet. The green fruit ripens to brown in September and October,
Natural Distribution: Upland woodlands,open wooded areas along lakes, and alluvial bottomland woodlands
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 to 9
USDA Wetland Indicator Status in NC: FACU
Pollination: Wind
Wildlife Connections: Mockernut trees, like the other Hickories, provide nourishment and habitat for a wide range of insects, birds and mammals. Among vertebrate animals, the edible nuts are eaten by bears, many types of squirrels, chipmunks, mice, wild turkeys, woodpeckers and quail. Deer browse the leave and twigs. Foliage serves as larval host for Luna Moth, Funeral Dagger, and Giant Regal Moth, and a great many insects which in turn support insectivorous birds of all kinds (Illinoiswildfloers.info).
Cultural Notes: As with most hickories, the wood is heavy and strong and is used for tool handles, agricultural implements, fence posts, baseball bats, and furniture. Mockernut wood is the preferred hickory for smoking hams.
Downside: Difficult to transplant due to the tap root. The Hickory Bark Beetle can be a significant pest on this tree, as well as leaf spot, powdery mildew and crown gall, especially on otherwise-stressed individuals.
Propagation: By seed.
USDA/NRCS Plant Distribution Map: View Map at USDA.gov
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Cure Nursery is a small nursery propagating and selling native plants for the Southeastern U.S. We are located near the town of Pittsboro, Chatham County, in central NC.

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