JUGLANDACEAE - - Walnut Family

Carya laciniosa (Michaux f.) G. Don — Shellbark Hickory

Kingnut Hickory, Big Shellbark Hickory (Carya laciniosa) - This is another large hickory which is extremely rare in Georgia, only found in the extreme northwest corner of the state. The leaves are the largest of the hickories with 7 or 9 leaflets; twigs are orange-brown with orange lenticels. The fruit is also the largest of the hickories, 1 3/4 to 2 1/2 in. long (sometimes larger), with a 4-6 ribbed nut, usually pointed on both ends. The bark plates tend to be flat at their free ends, instead of curving (like the other two species of Shagbark). Trees have a tendency to retain the leaf rachis/petiole into winter.

Habitat:

Moist, circumneutral, alluvial levee forests along brownwater rivers of the Coastal Plain (NC), streams of the Piedmont (NC) and Mountains (GA).

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 laciniosa (Shellbark 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 laciniosa (Shellbark 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/.