JUGLANDACEAE - - Walnut Family

Carya myristiciformis (Michaux f.) Elliott — Nutmeg Hickory

Nutmeg Hickory (Carya myristiciformis) - This medium to large hickory is very rare, strictly southern, and not discovered in Georgia until 1999 (Floyd Co.). Leaves with 7 to 11 leaflets, initially with silvery scales underneath, but by mid-summer turning to a very distinctive bronze color, making identification easy, even from a distance. Twigs and buds covered with silvery and bronze scales (resin dots) with scattered rusty hairs. Fruit round; husks prominently winged from base to apex, covered with yellow scales; nut rounded, shell thick, seed sweet. Tree was named for resemblance of nut to the cultivated nutmeg, genus Myristica. Bark sometimes becoming shaggy when old, although not usually as shaggy as Carya ovata (Shagbark Hickory) or C. carolinae-septentrionalis (Southern Shagbark Hickory).

Habitat:

Nonriverine swamps over calcareous substrates, including calcareous clays and coquina limestone ("marl"), oak flatwoods. The bronze sheen of the leaflets of this species is diagnostic. However, this feature doesn't appear until about mid-summer.

Habitat information from:
Weakley, Alan S., Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, Working Draft of 21 May 2015.

The native range of Carya myristiciformis (Nutmeg Hickory)

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)].

The Georgia range of Carya myristiciformis (Nutmeg Hickory)

Zomlefer, W.B., J.R. Carter, & D.E. Giannasi. 2014 (and ongoing). The Atlas of Georgia Plants. University of Georgia Herbarium (Athens, Georgia) and Valdosta State University Herbarium (Valdosta, Georgia). Available at: http://www.georgiaherbaria.org/.