Bitternut Hickory is a fairly common large tree of bottomland forests, distinguished by sulphur-yellow buds and usually having 9 leaflets per leaf.
Flowering, Chatham Co., NC 5/11/03.
Plantae>Magnoliophyta>Magnoliopsida>Juglandales>Juglandaceae>Carya cordiformis (Wangenheim) K. Koch
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| Bitternut Hickory is a fairly common large tree of bottomland forests, distinguished by sulphur-yellow buds and usually having 9 leaflets per leaf. Flowering, Chatham Co., NC 5/11/03. |
| Similar species: the Sand Hickory also has 9 leaflets and yellowish buds, but grows in dry habitats, has silvery leaf undersides, and spicily fragrant leaves; the Water Hickory of the Coastal Plain lacks yellow buds, averages more leaflets (9-11), and has slightly slightly more curved (falcate) leaves. Chapel Hill, NC 5/1/05. |
| Bark of a small tree. Chapel Hill, NC 5/1/05. |
| Bark of a large tree. The bark is much tighter than on most hickories, lacking significant ridges and not peeling off in strips. Chatham Co., NC 5/11/03. |
More information:
Trees of Alabama and the Southeast
US Forest Service Silvics Manual
Virginia Tech Dendrology
Revised 6/1/08 cwcook@duke.edu
All photographs and text ©2008 by Will Cook unless otherwise indicated.