Pignut Hickory is common medium-large tree of upland forests. The leaves usually are glabrous and have 5 leaflets. They are spicily fragrant, like those of the other tetraploid hickories of section Carya (alba, ovalis, and pallida).

The usual variety in the NC piedmont is var. glabra. There's also var. hirsuta (with densely pubescent rachis) in the mountains and var. megacarpa (with larger fruits and longer terminal leaflets) in the coastal plain, though the ranges of these two are not well known, so they could occur around here also.