Bitternut Hickory

Bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis) is a large deciduous tree in the walnut family and one of the most widespread hickories in eastern North America. It belongs to the "pecan hickory" group.

Its most reliable identifying feature is its bright sulfur-yellow buds, unmatched by any other native hickory.

The tree is valued for its strong, heavy wood, used for tool handles and firewood, and forms a broad, rounded crown.

• Buds: Distinctive bright yellow, scurfy terminal buds — the single best field mark.
• Leaves: Pinnately compound, 6–10 in long, usually with 7–11 (most often 9) slender, finely toothed leaflets.
• Bark: Gray, smooth when young, becoming shallowly furrowed with interlacing ridges (not shaggy).
• Fruit: Small, rounded nut about 1 in wide, with a thin husk that splits partway and prominent wing-like ridges along the sutures.
• Size & habit: 50–80 ft tall with a broad, rounded crown.

Bitternut hickory grows in full sun and tolerates a wide range of soils, including moist and periodically wet sites.

• Water: Prefers moist, fertile bottomland soils but adapts to drier uplands.
• Soil: Deep, rich loams are ideal; tolerates clay and moderately wet ground.
• Temperature: Hardy in USDA zones 4–9.
• Feeding: Generally unnecessary in native soils.
• Propagation: From stratified seed; like other hickories it forms a deep taproot, so transplant when young. Foliage and roots release juglone, which can inhibit nearby plants.

Native across eastern North America, from Quebec and Maine west to Minnesota and south to Texas and Florida — the broadest range of any true hickory.

It favors moist bottomlands, low woods, and stream terraces but also grows on drier slopes. It is a common component of mixed hardwood forests and is sometimes planted as a shade tree.