Summary ⁶

Carya tomentosa, (mockernut hickory, mockernut, white hickory, whiteheart hickory, hognut, bullnut) is a tree in the Juglandaceae or walnut family. The most abundant of the hickories, common in the eastern half of the US, it is long lived, sometimes reaching the age of 500 years. A straight-growing hickory, a high percentage of its wood is used for products where strength, hardness, and flexibility are needed. The wood makes an excellent fuel.

The species' name comes from the Latin word tomentum, meaning "stuffing", referring to the underside of the leaves, which are covered with dense, short hairs, which help identify the species. Also called the white hickory due to the light color of the wood, the common name mockernut likely refers to the would-be nut eater, who would struggle to crack the thick shell only to find a small, unrewarding nut inside.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Matt Bertone, all rights reserved, uploaded by Matt Bertone
2. (c) John B., Dendroica cerulea, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carya_tomentosa_(8745432970)_4x3.jpg
3. (c) Douglas Goldman, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Douglas Goldman
4. (c) bill1953, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
5. (c) Erin Faulkner, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Erin Faulkner
6. Adapted by Tom Pollard from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carya_tomentosa

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Go Botany
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• VASCAN by Canadensys
• World Flora Online

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