Nutmeg Hickory is the rarest of all the species of Carya worldwide, rare throughout its range. This large tree of calcareous bottomlands is known from only one location in North Carolina, its northeastern limit.

Rocky Point, Pender Co., NC 4/14/07.

Nutmeg Hickory flowers in early spring, as the leaves are emerging. The specific epithet myristiciformis refers to the small, round nuts shaped like nutmeg (genus Myristica).

Rocky Point, Pender Co., NC 4/14/07.

The leaf undersides are covered with silvery-golden scales. The scales start out as silvery, becoming bronzy as the leaves mature.

The most similar species is Sand Hickory (C. pallida), which has silvery-tan scales, fragrant leaves, slightly larger nuts (3-5 cm long vs 2-3 cm for Nutmeg Hickory), and tends to grow in acidic upland soils. The leaves of Nutmeg Hickory are not particularly fragrant. The bud scales of Nutmeg Hickory are valvate, while those of Sand Hickory are imbricate. Both species tend to have 7-9 leaflets. The more closely related Bitternut Hickory (Carya cordiformis), which lacks the lepidote scales and has yellowish buds.

Rocky Point, Pender Co., NC 4/14/07.

Detail of the lepidote scales, showing the silvery scales of a very young leaf.

Rocky Point, Pender Co., NC 4/14/07.

The bark is tight with a diamond-shaped pattern of ridges.

Rocky Point, Pender Co., NC 4/14/07.