Carya cordiformis

(Wangenheim) K. Koch

Dendrologie 1: 597. 1869.

Common names: Bitternut hickory pignut noyer amer caryer cordiforme
EndemicIllustrated
Basionym: Juglans cordiformis Wangenheim Beytr. Teut. Forstwiss., 25, plate 10, fig. 25. 1787
Synonyms: Hicoria cordiformis (Wangenheim) Britton Hicoria minima (Marshall) Britton
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 3.

Trees, to 52 m. Bark gray or brownish, smooth or ridged or exfoliating with small platelike scales. Twigs tan, slender, glabrous except scaly near tip. Terminal buds sulfur yellow to tan, oblong, 10(-19) mm, densely scaly with yellow peltate scales, pilose near apex; bud scales valvate; axillary buds protected by pair of valvate bracteoles. Leaves 2-4 dm; petiole 3-7 cm, glabrous near base, hirsute near rachis. Leaflets (5-)7-9(-13), lateral petiolules 0-1 mm, terminal petiolules 2-8 mm; blades ovate-lanceolate, rarely falcate, 3-19 × 1-7 cm, margins finely to coarsely serrate, without tufts of hairs, apex acuminate; surfaces abaxially villous with unicellular and 2-4-rayed fasciculate hairs along midrib and major veins, densely to sparsely pubescent throughout, and with abundant large peltate scales and small round and 2- or 4-lobed peltate scales in spring, still present near margins at base and apex in fall, adaxially villous along midrib near base, sparsely scaly in spring. Staminate catkins pedunculate, to 16 cm, stalks without hairs or hirsute, bracts scaly; anthers hirsute. Fruits brown, cylindric, obovoid, or nearly spheric, not compressed or only slightly compressed, 2-3 × 2-3.2 cm; husks rough, 2-3 mm thick, dehiscing to middle or slightly below, sutures winged; nuts light brown, ellipsoid to ovoid, not compressed or only slightly compressed, not angled, rugulose; shells thin. Seeds bitter. 2n = 32.


Phenology: Flowering spring.
Habitat: River flood plains, well-drained hillsides, and limestone glades
Elevation: 0-900 m

Distribution

V3 427-distribution-map.gif

Ont., Que., Ala., Ark., Conn., Del., D.C., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., La., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Nebr., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Okla., Pa., R.I., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Vt., Va., W.Va., Wis.

Discussion

Carya cordiformis hybridizes with C. illinoinensis (C. ×brownii Sargent), C. ovata (C. ×laneyi Sargent), and C. laciniosa, and reputedly with the tetraploid C. glabra (C. ×demareei Palmer).

The Fox Indians used Carya cordiformis medicinally as a diuretic, a laxative, and a panacea (D. E. Moerman 1986).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Carya cordiformis"
Donald E. Stone +
(Wangenheim) K. Koch +
Juglans cordiformis +
Bitternut hickory +, pignut +, noyer amer +  and caryer cordiforme +
Ont. +, Que. +, Ala. +, Ark. +, Conn. +, Del. +, D.C. +, Fla. +, Ga. +, Ill. +, Ind. +, Iowa +, Kans. +, Ky. +, La. +, Maine +, Md. +, Mass. +, Mich. +, Minn. +, Miss. +, Mo. +, Nebr. +, N.H. +, N.J. +, N.Y. +, N.C. +, Ohio +, Okla. +, Pa. +, R.I. +, S.C. +, Tenn. +, Tex. +, Vt. +, Va. +, W.Va. +  and Wis. +
0-900 m +
River flood plains, well-drained hillsides, and limestone glades +
Flowering spring. +
Dendrologie +
Endemic +  and Illustrated +
Hicoria cordiformis +  and Hicoria minima +
Carya cordiformis +
species +