Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Carya glabra
FAMILY
Juglandaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Pignut Hickory at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Carya glabra
FAMILY
Juglandaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America
Carya glabra
SYNONYMOUS WITH Guide to the Vascular Plants of the Blue Ridge (Wofford, 1989)
Carya glabra var. glabra
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 053-02-010:
Carya glabra FAMILY Juglandaceae
INCLUDING Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Carya ovalis var. hirsuta
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hicoria austrina
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hicoria glabra var. glabra
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hicoria glabra var. hirsuta
COMMON NAME:
Pignut Hickory
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Ron Lance jkm110219_651
Note variation in husk thickness & dehiscence, and nut shape, size & sweetness.
)
JK Marlow jkm191222_2359_c_gabra
Clay County AL
Cheaha State Park
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_224
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_225
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_cagl8_004_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_higl_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm230228_1300
February Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
Bud scales imbricate, not scurfy; outer, darker bud scales persistent, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm140524_180
May Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm250524_0572
May Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_c_glabra_silhouette_2
May Harris County GA
A tree to 70-80' tall, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_carya_glabra
June
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_carya_glabra_14
June
Fruit rather pear-shaped, 1-1.25" long, often with a knoblike base, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_carya_glabra_6
June
)
JK Marlow jkm0509j_09
September Transylvania County NC
Silver Run Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm0509j_34
September Transylvania County NC
Silver Run Preserve
Bark typically roughly furrowed, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow s050924_cd
September Transylvania County NC
Silver Run Preserve
)
JK Marlow s081012_ab
October Pickens County SC
Clemson Forest
A variable species, leaves typically glabrous with 5 leaflets, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm231109_6770
November Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm231109_6772
November Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm231109_6775
November Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
)
Ron Lance jkm110219_644a
Month Unknown
Pear-shaped fruit's thin husk doesn't split to the base, oft retaining nut, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
Ron Lance jkm110219_650a
Month Unknown
The coastal plain's var. megacarpa has larger leaves & fruit, thicker husks, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Carya glabra
FAMILY
Juglandaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Carya glabra
FAMILY
Juglandaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America
Carya glabra
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Guide to the Vascular Plants of the Blue Ridge (Wofford, 1989)
Carya glabra var. glabra
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 053-02-010:
Carya glabra
FAMILY
Juglandaceae
INCLUDING
Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Carya ovalis var. hirsuta
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hicoria austrina
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hicoria glabra var. glabra
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hicoria glabra var. hirsuta
271
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: In a very wide variety of forests and woodlands, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Odd-pinnately compound: 3-7 leaflets (usually 5)
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring
Staminate calyx 2-3 lobed
Inferior ovary
Unisexual
Staminate flowers in elongate catkins
FRUIT:
Fall
Nut
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p043
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p281
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p218
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p072
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p214
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p069
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p12
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p229
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p088
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".