Index / Search / Carya cordiformis
§1 Plant
Carya cordiformis (Wangenh.) K. Koch
vernacular bitternut hickory — species · Juglandaceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Tree
- Duration
- Perennial
- Group
- Dicot
- Family
- Juglandaceae DC. ex Perleb
- Genus
- Carya
§2a
Native status, by region
- CAN Canada Native
- L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b
County-level range
· 475 counties across 16 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- High
- Shade
- High
- Moisture use
- Medium
- Fire
- Medium
- Salinity
- None
- Anaerobic
- Low
- CaCO₃
- High
- Hedging
- None
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -47 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 120 min.
- Precipitation
- 25–70 in/yr
- pH range
- 4.8–7.4
- Root depth
- 50 in min.
- Fertility need
- Medium
- Soil texture
- coarse, medium, fine
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Single Stem
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Lifespan
- Moderate
- Mature height
- 75 ft
- Height @ 20 y
- 30 ft
- Foliage texture
- Coarse
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Dense
- Porosity (winter)
- Porous
- Flower colour
- Green
- Fruit colour
- Brown
- Fire resistant
- No
- N fixation
- None
- Toxicity
- None
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Mid Spring
- Seed abundance
- Medium
- Seed begins
- Summer
- Seed ends
- Fall
- Spread rate
- Slow
- Stratify
- Yes
- Seeds / lb
- 156
- Propagation
- seed, bare root, container
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- Routinely Available
- Nursery stock
- No
- Browse palatability
- Low
- Graze palatability
- Low
- Palatable, human
- Yes
- Protein potential
- Low
- Lumber
- Yes
- Fuelwood
- High
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 475 counties across 16 states/territories.
Alabama view state ↗ 26 N ▾
- Bullock 01011
- Butler 01013
- Calhoun 01015
- Cleburne 01029
- Colbert 01033
- Crenshaw 01041
- Dallas 01047
- Fayette 01057
- Franklin 01059
- Jackson 01071
- Jefferson 01073
- Lawrence 01079
- Limestone 01083
- Lowndes 01085
- Macon 01087
- Madison 01089
- Marengo 01091
- Marshall 01095
- Montgomery 01101
- Morgan 01103
- Pickens 01107
- Russell 01113
- Talladega 01121
- Tuscaloosa 01125
- Walker 01127
- Wilcox 01131
Arkansas view state ↗ 75 N ▾
- Arkansas 05001
- Ashley 05003
- Baxter 05005
- Benton 05007
- Boone 05009
- Bradley 05011
- Calhoun 05013
- Carroll 05015
- Chicot 05017
- Clark 05019
- Clay 05021
- Cleburne 05023
- Cleveland 05025
- Columbia 05027
- Conway 05029
- Craighead 05031
- Crawford 05033
- Crittenden 05035
- Cross 05037
- Dallas 05039
- Desha 05041
- Drew 05043
- Faulkner 05045
- Franklin 05047
- Fulton 05049
- Garland 05051
- Grant 05053
- Greene 05055
- Hempstead 05057
- Hot Spring 05059
- Howard 05061
- Independence 05063
- Izard 05065
- Jackson 05067
- Jefferson 05069
- Johnson 05071
- Lafayette 05073
- Lawrence 05075
- Lee 05077
- Lincoln 05079
- Little River 05081
- Logan 05083
- Lonoke 05085
- Madison 05087
- Marion 05089
- Miller 05091
- Mississippi 05093
- Monroe 05095
- Montgomery 05097
- Nevada 05099
- Newton 05101
- Ouachita 05103
- Perry 05105
- Phillips 05107
- Pike 05109
- Poinsett 05111
- Polk 05113
- Pope 05115
- Prairie 05117
- Pulaski 05119
- Randolph 05121
- Saline 05125
- Scott 05127
- Searcy 05129
- Sebastian 05131
- Sevier 05133
- Sharp 05135
- St. Francis 05123
- Stone 05137
- Union 05139
- Van Buren 05141
- Washington 05143
- White 05145
- Woodruff 05147
- Yell 05149
Delaware view state ↗ 1 N ▾
District of Columbia view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Florida view state ↗ 5 N ▾
Georgia view state ↗ 30 N ▾
- Baker 13007
- Bartow 13015
- Bulloch 13031
- Cherokee 13057
- Clarke 13059
- Crawford 13079
- DeKalb 13089
- Early 13099
- Elbert 13105
- Fannin 13111
- Floyd 13115
- Forsyth 13117
- Fulton 13121
- Glascock 13125
- Greene 13133
- Hall 13139
- Haralson 13143
- Jackson 13157
- Jasper 13159
- Lincoln 13181
- Macon 13193
- Murray 13213
- Oconee 13219
- Polk 13233
- Putnam 13237
- Seminole 13253
- Stephens 13257
- Towns 13281
- Wayne 13305
- Wilkes 13317
Kentucky view state ↗ 95 N ▾
- Adair 21001
- Anderson 21005
- Ballard 21007
- Barren 21009
- Bath 21011
- Bell 21013
- Boone 21015
- Bourbon 21017
- Boyd 21019
- Bracken 21023
- Bullitt 21029
- Butler 21031
- Calloway 21035
- Campbell 21037
- Carlisle 21039
- Carroll 21041
- Carter 21043
- Casey 21045
- Clark 21049
- Clay 21051
- Clinton 21053
- Crittenden 21055
- Cumberland 21057
- Daviess 21059
- Edmonson 21061
- Estill 21065
- Fayette 21067
- Fleming 21069
- Floyd 21071
- Franklin 21073
- Fulton 21075
- Gallatin 21077
- Grant 21081
- Graves 21083
- Greenup 21089
- Hardin 21093
- Harlan 21095
- Harrison 21097
- Henderson 21101
- Henry 21103
- Hickman 21105
- Jefferson 21111
- Jessamine 21113
- Kenton 21117
- Knott 21119
- Knox 21121
- Larue 21123
- Laurel 21125
- Lee 21129
- Leslie 21131
- Letcher 21133
- Lewis 21135
- Lincoln 21137
- Logan 21141
- Lyon 21143
- Madison 21151
- Magoffin 21153
- Marion 21155
- Marshall 21157
- Mason 21161
- McCreary 21147
- McLean 21149
- Meade 21163
- Menifee 21165
- Mercer 21167
- Monroe 21171
- Montgomery 21173
- Morgan 21175
- Nelson 21179
- Nicholas 21181
- Ohio 21183
- Oldham 21185
- Owen 21187
- Pendleton 21191
- Perry 21193
- Pike 21195
- Pulaski 21199
- Robertson 21201
- Rockcastle 21203
- Rowan 21205
- Russell 21207
- Scott 21209
- Shelby 21211
- Simpson 21213
- Spencer 21215
- Taylor 21217
- Todd 21219
- Trigg 21221
- Trimble 21223
- Warren 21227
- Washington 21229
- Wayne 21231
- Webster 21233
- Whitley 21235
- Woodford 21239
Massachusetts view state ↗ 11 N ▾
New Hampshire view state ↗ 6 N ▾
New Jersey view state ↗ 17 N ▾
New York view state ↗ 45 N ▾
- Albany 36001
- Allegany 36003
- Bronx 36005
- Cattaraugus 36009
- Cayuga 36011
- Chemung 36015
- Clinton 36019
- Columbia 36021
- Delaware 36025
- Dutchess 36027
- Erie 36029
- Genesee 36037
- Greene 36039
- Jefferson 36045
- Kings 36047
- Livingston 36051
- Madison 36053
- Monroe 36055
- Nassau 36059
- New York 36061
- Niagara 36063
- Oneida 36065
- Onondaga 36067
- Orange 36071
- Oswego 36075
- Otsego 36077
- Putnam 36079
- Queens 36081
- Rensselaer 36083
- Richmond 36085
- Rockland 36087
- Saratoga 36091
- Schoharie 36095
- St. Lawrence 36089
- Steuben 36101
- Suffolk 36103
- Tioga 36107
- Tompkins 36109
- Ulster 36111
- Warren 36113
- Washington 36115
- Wayne 36117
- Westchester 36119
- Wyoming 36121
- Yates 36123
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 55 N ▾
- Allegheny 42003
- Armstrong 42005
- Beaver 42007
- Bedford 42009
- Berks 42011
- Blair 42013
- Bradford 42015
- Bucks 42017
- Butler 42019
- Cambria 42021
- Cameron 42023
- Centre 42027
- Chester 42029
- Clinton 42035
- Crawford 42039
- Dauphin 42043
- Delaware 42045
- Elk 42047
- Erie 42049
- Fayette 42051
- Forest 42053
- Franklin 42055
- Fulton 42057
- Greene 42059
- Huntingdon 42061
- Juniata 42067
- Lackawanna 42069
- Lancaster 42071
- Lawrence 42073
- Lehigh 42077
- Luzerne 42079
- Lycoming 42081
- McKean 42083
- Mercer 42085
- Mifflin 42087
- Monroe 42089
- Montgomery 42091
- Northampton 42095
- Northumberland 42097
- Perry 42099
- Philadelphia 42101
- Pike 42103
- Potter 42105
- Schuylkill 42107
- Somerset 42111
- Susquehanna 42115
- Tioga 42117
- Union 42119
- Venango 42121
- Warren 42123
- Washington 42125
- Wayne 42127
- Westmoreland 42129
- Wyoming 42131
- York 42133
Rhode Island view state ↗ 2 N ▾
Vermont view state ↗ 9 N ▾
Virginia view state ↗ 66 N ▾
- Albemarle 51003
- Alleghany 51005
- Amelia 51007
- Amherst 51009
- Augusta 51015
- Bath 51017
- Bedford 51019
- Botetourt 51023
- Brunswick 51025
- Buckingham 51029
- Campbell 51031
- Caroline 51033
- Charles City 51036
- Clarke 51043
- Culpeper 51047
- Dinwiddie 51053
- Essex 51057
- Fairfax 51059
- Fauquier 51061
- Floyd 51063
- Fluvanna 51065
- Frederick 51069
- Giles 51071
- Gloucester 51073
- Grayson 51077
- Greene 51079
- Greensville 51081
- Halifax 51083
- Hanover 51085
- Highland 51091
- Isle of Wight 51093
- James City 51095
- King and Queen 51097
- King George 51099
- Lancaster 51103
- Lee 51105
- Loudoun 51107
- Louisa 51109
- Madison 51113
- Mathews 51115
- Mecklenburg 51117
- Middlesex 51119
- Montgomery 51121
- Nelson 51125
- New Kent 51127
- Newport News (city) 51700
- Orange 51137
- Page 51139
- Patrick 51141
- Pittsylvania 51143
- Powhatan 51145
- Prince Edward 51147
- Prince William 51153
- Rappahannock 51157
- Rockbridge 51163
- Rockingham 51165
- Russell 51167
- Shenandoah 51171
- Smyth 51173
- Southampton 51175
- Spotsylvania 51177
- Surry 51181
- Sussex 51183
- Warren 51187
- Westmoreland 51193
- York 51199
West Virginia view state ↗ 31 N ▾
- Barbour 54001
- Brooke 54009
- Cabell 54011
- Doddridge 54017
- Fayette 54019
- Grant 54023
- Greenbrier 54025
- Hampshire 54027
- Hardy 54031
- Harrison 54033
- Jefferson 54037
- Kanawha 54039
- Marion 54049
- Marshall 54051
- Mason 54053
- Mercer 54055
- Mineral 54057
- Monongalia 54061
- Monroe 54063
- Nicholas 54067
- Ohio 54069
- Pendleton 54071
- Pocahontas 54075
- Putnam 54079
- Roane 54087
- Summers 54089
- Tyler 54095
- Upshur 54097
- Wayne 54099
- Webster 54101
- Wirt 54105
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/CACO15 ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/3054299 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T05:06:36Z