Resources < Wildlife Habitats < Native Plants < Native Plant Database < Carya cordiformis

BITTERNUT HICKORY
Carya cordiformis

Family: Juglandaceae

Description:  One of the largest and most widespread of hickories with an open, rounded top.  Leaves are narrower than most other hickories having 7-9 leaflets, toothed margins, yellowish-green and smooth above, paler with hair and gland dotted beneath, turning bright, clear yellow in fall.  Distinguished from other members of genus by its striking mustard yellow buds.  Flowers appear as leaves are reaching full size, April to May.  Male catkins hang like tinsel from branches below leaves, while female flowers are short, 4-angled on a terminal spike.  Nuts nearly globe shaped, slightly flattened, having thin, 4-winged husk, maturing September to October.  Bark is smooth when young; much later with shallow furrows and interlacing ridges, appears to be thin, tight and feels quite hard.

Size:

Habit:

Growth Rate:

Light:

Planting and Care: Supposedly the fastest growing of hickories that survives under wide range of less favorable conditions.  Plant in area where nuts will not become a nuisance.  Mature trees can be injured by soil compaction, so protect root zone and trunk from construction equipment.

Ornamental Value:

Landscape Usage:

Wildlife Benefits: Some birds and mammals eat the nuts when there are less favored hickory nuts available.  Rabbits, beavers, and small rodents and mammals occasionally feed on the bark of hickory species.  Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers prefer sap of bitternut to other hickories.  Primary larval host for Luna Moth, Funeral Dagger Wing Moth, Giant Regal Moth, and Hickory Horned Devil (Royal Walnut Moth).

Native Habitat: Found from Quebec to Minnesota, south to Florida and Louisiana. Found on many soil types from dry, gravelly uplands to rich, moist bottomlands.  Largest size in bottomlands. 

Propagation: Best results from seeds during early spring.  Seed dormancy can be overcome by stratification in a moist medium at 33° to 40° F for 30 to 150 days; when stored for a year or more, seed may require only 30 to 60 days' stratification.  Bitternut seeds can probably tolerate a more moist seedbed than most other hickories, and it is least susceptible to frost.  Stump and root sprouting are common from stumps, root collar, and roots.  A dense root system make transplanting more successful than other hickories when they are very small or plant seed where you want tree to grow.