Hickories
Carya tomentosa
C. tomentosa (Poir.) Nutt.
Mockernut Hickory
Mockernut hickory is widely distributed from "eastern Massachusetts
to Florida west across eastern and central New York and northern
Ohio to southeastern Iowa, Missouri, southeastern Kansas, eastern
Oklahoma, and eastern Texas" (Manning 1973) (distribution map). The species occupies upland sites
on ridges and hillsides. It is a major component of one forest
cover type: Northern Red Oak­Mockernut Hickory­Sweetgum.
It is a minor component of 4 other forest types: Post Oak­Black
Oak; White Oak­Red Oak­Hickory; Beech­Sugar Maple
; and Swamp Chestnut Oak­Cherrybark Oak (Fowells 1965).
Mockernut is easily distinguished by its tomentose rachises, lower leaf surfaces and twigs, which give the tree its
scientific name. Terminal
buds are large (>
1 cm) and drop their outer bud scales in the autumn to reveal
the buff colored, silky pubescent inner bud scales. Twigs are
stout and pubescent. Nuts are usually light brown in color and
are thick shelled with sweet kernels. Husks are usually around
5 mm in thickness. Bark
of trees is tight and
furrowed, and light grey to grey.
The thick shell of the nuts accounts for the lack of horticultural
attention which this species has received. One cultivar has been
named; 'Droska', a 1929 selection from Pierce City, Missouri.
The tree is a stately landscape specimen when well spaced on good
sites and is especially beautiful when it attains its bright yellow
to golden fall color.
The tetraploid mockernut is reported to cross with the tetraploid
black hickory to form C. X collina Laughlin.
Putative hybrids between mockernut and diploid species include
C. X schneckii Sarg. (mockernut X pecan) and the cultivar 'Siers',
described by Reed (1944) as a hybrid between bitternut and mockernut.
LJ Grauke
, Research Horticulturist
& Curator
USDA-ARS Pecan Genetics
10200 FM 50
Somerville, TX 77879
tele: 979-272-1402
fax: 979-272-1401
e-mail: ljg@tamu.edu
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