Walnuts & Hickories

Black Walnut Black Walnut Mockernut Hickory Mockernut Hickory

What are they?

This family of trees is well known to most people for the attractive wood and tasty fruits that the various species provide.

Where are they found?

Walnuts and hickories generally favor deeper woodland soils and are thus rather less common in Cape May County than further north in New Jersey. Most species are woodland trees, though will also grow in hedgerows and along field edges.

Identification

Black Walnut, with its 'cannonball' fruits is fairly easy to identify while some of the hickories are a little tricky due, at least in part to the variability of some species. Details of both fruits and leaves are useful to note, while bark can also be of importance in determining the species.



Black Walnut      Juglans nigra

A spreading tree of woodland edge and hedgelines. Native, but sometimes also grown as an ornamental. Flowers May. A strong-growing tree with stout branches and large winter buds. The leaves usually have no end leaflet, ending in a rather weak pair of side leaflets.
Black Walnut Black Walnut Black Walnut Black Walnut
Leaf
Male flowers
Female flowers
Fruit

Black Walnut Black Walnut Black Walnut
Winter form
Winter twig
Bark

Mockernut Hickory      Carya tomentosa

The commonest hickory around Cape May, perhaps because it will tolerate drier soils. Woodlands and some marginal habitats. Flowers May. Leaves rather coarsely hairy and rough to the touch.
Mockernut Hickory Mockernut Hickory Mockernut Hickory Mockernut Hickory
Leaf
Leaf underside
Male flowers
Female flowers

Mockernut Hickory Mockernut Hickory Mockernut Hickory Mockernut Hickory
Young fruit
Ripe fruit
Bark
Winter twig

Sand Hickory      Carya pallida

An uncommon species which can be found locally in dry, sandy soils in the lower half of the Cape May peninsula. Flowers May. A very variable species in leaf shape, but this species has a tendency to have 7-9 leaflets, rather than 5-7. Buds are covered in golden-brown scales.
Sand Hickory Sand Hickory Sand Hickory Sand Hickory
Leaves
Leaf
Leaf
Young fruit

Sand Hickory Sand Hickory
Bark
Winter buds

Pignut Hickory      Carya glabra

Locally common around Cape May county, especially in the northern half of the region. Woodlands and some marginal habitats. Flowers May. Leaves smooth and similar to those of the ashes, however, it differs from ash trees in its bark, buds, fruits and flowers.
Pignut Hickory Pignut Hickory Pignut Hickory Pignut Hickory
Leaves & fruit
Leaf
Leaf underside
Young fruit

Pignut Hickory Pignut Hickory Pignut Hickory
Ripe fruit
Bark
Winter buds