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Carya laciniosa

Common name:	Shellbark Hickory	Family:	Juglandaceae
Author:	(F.Michx.)Loudon.	Botanical references:	11, 43, 200
Synonyms:	Juglans laciniosa (F.Michx.), Hicoria sulcata ((Nutt.)Britton.), Hicoria laciniosa ((F.Michx.)Sarg.), Carya sulcata (Nutt.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Eastern N. America - New York and Pennsylvania to Indiana, Iowa and Kansas.
Habitat:	Deep rich soils of floodplains and bottomlands[43, 62]. It grows best on neutral or slightly alkaline soils and tolerates shallow flooding in early spring[229].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Hicorius laciniosa[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Shell-bark Hickory [B], Shellbark Hickory [DEN1,P],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Juglandales. Walnut family

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 30m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 6. It is in leaf from June to October, in flower from April to May, and the seeds ripen from September to October. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Wind. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Canopy.

Cultivar 'Henry': Woodland, Canopy.
Cultivar 'Nieman': Woodland, Canopy.

Edible Uses

Sap; Seed; Sweetener.

Seed - raw or cooked in pies, cakes etc[183]. Sweet, with a very fine flavour[183], it has the largest seeds of the hickories[227], up to 5cm long[229]. Probably the finest flavoured hickory[117]. The shell is hard and thick[101, 117] and the cracking quality is poor compared to C. ovata[183]. The seed ripens in late autumn and, when stored in its shell in a cool place, will keep for at least 6 months[K].
Sap - a sweet flavour[62]. Tapped in spring, it can be boiled down to a syrup or sugar and be used in similar ways to maple syrup[101, 183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent; Detergent.

The inner bark is astringent and detergent[257]. It has been used as a dressing for cuts and has been chewed to treat sore mouths[257].

Other Uses

Fuel; Wood.

Wood - close-grained, tough, hard, heavy, elastic, very flexible. It weighs 50 lb. per cubic foot. An excellent wood, it is used for tool handles, baskets, fuel etc[46, 61, 63, 82, 226, 227].

Cultivation details

Prefers a deep moisture-retentive loam in a sunny sheltered position, requiring a good summer for best development[1, 63, 137, 200].
A very ornamental but slow growing tree[1], it is sometimes cultivated for its edible seed, and is also sold in local markets in N. America[82]. There are some named varieties[183] though some of these are likely to be hybrids. 'Fayette' is a thin shelled form[200]. 'Henry' has a very large nut[200].
Trees have been planted on an experimental scale in Germany for their wood[50].
Hybridizes in the wild with C. ovata[227].
Trees take up to 15 years from seed to bear fruit[117].
Plants are strongly tap-rooted and should be planted in their permanent positions as soon as possible[1, 137]. Sowing in situ would be the best method so long as the seed could be protected from mice[1, 200].
Trees are late coming into leaf (usually late May to June) and lose their leaves early in the autumn (usually in October)[137]. During this time they cast a heavy shade. These factors combine to make the trees eminently suitable for a mixed woodland planting with shrubs and other trees beneath them[137].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].
Most species in this genus have quite a wide range of distribution and, in order to find trees more suited to this country, seed from the most appropriate provenances should be sought[137]. Most trees growing in Britain at present tend to only produce good seed after hot summers[137].
Trees are self-fertile but larger crops of better quality seeds are produced if cross-pollination takes place[229].

Propagation

Seed - requires a period of cold stratification. It is best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe[78]. Stored seed should be kept moist (but not wet) prior to sowing and should be sown in a cold frame as soon as possible[78]. Where possible, sow 1 or 2 seeds only in each deep pot and thin to the best seedling. If you need to transplant the seedlings, then do this as soon as they are large enough to handle, once more using deep pots to accommodate the tap root. Put the plants into their permanent positions as soon as possible, preferably in their first summer, and give them some protection from the cold for at least the first winter[78, K]. Seed can also be sown in situ so long as protection is given from mice etc and the seed is given some protection from cold[200] (a plastic bottle with the top and bottom removed and a wire mesh top fitted to keep the mice out is ideal)

Cultivars

'Nieman': A heavy producer of very large nuts, the shell is fairly thick though the nut cracks well[183]. The tree produces well as far north as Iowa in the USA[183].
'Henry': This cultivar has a very large nut[183, 200], it has a very good flavour, the kernel filling the shell[183]. A hardy and productive tree[183], it has been recommended for cultivation though the report did not say how well it does in Britain[200]. It grows well in northern USA[183].
'Fayette': One of the thinnest-shelled cultivars, it has a large nut that cracks out well and has a good flavour[183, 200]. The tree bears good crops annually[183]. It has been recommended for cultivation though the report did not say how well it does in Britain[200]. It is likely to be of hybrid origin[200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Juglandaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[62] Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold 1982 ISBN 0442222009
Very readable.

[63] Howes. F. N. Nuts. Faber 1948
Rather old but still a masterpiece. Has sections on tropical and temperate plants with edible nuts plus a section on nut plants in Britain. Very readable.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[82] Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965 ISBN 0-486-20278-X
Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader.

[101] Turner. N. J. and Szczawinski. A. Edible Wild Fruits and Nuts of Canada. National Museum of Natural Sciences 1978
A very readable guide to some wild foods of Canada.

[117] Rosengarten. jnr. F. The Book of Edible Nuts. Walker & Co. 1984 ISBN 0802707699
A very readable and comprehensive guide. Well illustrated.

[137] ? The Plantsman. Vol. 9. 1986 - 1987. Royal Horticultural Society 1986
Excerpts from the periodical giving cultivation details and other notes on some of the useful plants including Carya spp and Crocus sativus.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[226] Lauriault. J. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Ontario. 1989 ISBN 0889025649
Very good on identification for non-experts, the book also has a lot of information on plant uses.

[227] Vines. R.A. Trees of North Texas University of Texas Press. 1982 ISBN 0292780206
A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.

[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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