Virginia Tech Dendrology

water hickory Juglandaceae Carya aquatica (Michx. f.) Nutt. symbol: CAAQ2
Leaf: Alternate, pinnately compound, 8 to 16 inches long, 7 to 15 curved, lance shaped, serrated leaflets, green above, lower surface paler and may be hairy.
Flower: Species is monoecious; male flowers occur in hanging slender yellow-green catkins, 2 to 3 inches long, females are very small, yellow-green and angled.
Fruit: Husks are thin and 4 winged where they split; nut brown, 1 to 1 1/2 inches long, oval to egg-shaped, conspicuously flattened.
Twig: Slender to moderate, greenish brown to gray-brown, often with scruffy fuzz; buds flattened, pointed and often curved, covered with scruffy yellow-brown fuzz, leaf scar shallowly three lobed.
Bark: Smooth a light gray when young, light gray-brown, splits into narrow, loose shaggy scales.
Form: A large tree reaching heights over 100 feet and several feet in diameter.
Looks like: pecan - bitternut hickory

Additional Range Information: Carya aquatica is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
More Information: Wood
External Links: USDAFS Silvics of North America - USDA Plants Database - USDAFS Forest Products Lab
All material © 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information