§1 Plant
Carya ovata (Mill.) K. Koch
vernacular shagbark 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
· 877 counties across 27 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- Medium
- Shade
- Medium
- Moisture use
- Medium
- Fire
- Medium
- Salinity
- Low
- Anaerobic
- None
- CaCO₃
- Medium
- Hedging
- None
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -40 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 140 min.
- Precipitation
- 29–80 in/yr
- pH range
- 4–7.3
- Root depth
- 48 in min.
- Fertility need
- Medium
- Soil texture
- coarse, medium, fine
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Single Stem
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Lifespan
- Long
- Mature height
- 75 ft
- Height @ 20 y
- 15 ft
- Foliage texture
- Coarse
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Moderate
- Porosity (winter)
- Porous
- Flower colour
- Yellow
- Fruit colour
- Brown
- Fire resistant
- No
- N fixation
- None
- Toxicity
- None
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Late Spring
- Seed abundance
- Medium
- Seed begins
- Summer
- Seed ends
- Fall
- Spread rate
- Slow
- Stratify
- Yes
- Seeds / lb
- 96
- Propagation
- seed, bare root, container
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- Routinely Available
- Nursery stock
- No
- Browse palatability
- Low
- Graze palatability
- Low
- Palatable, human
- Yes
- Lumber
- Yes
- Fuelwood
- High
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 877 counties across 27 states/territories.
Alabama view state ↗ 38 N ▾
- Autauga 01001
- Bibb 01007
- Butler 01013
- Calhoun 01015
- Chilton 01021
- Choctaw 01023
- Clay 01027
- Covington 01039
- Crenshaw 01041
- Cullman 01043
- Dallas 01047
- DeKalb 01049
- Escambia 01053
- Fayette 01057
- Franklin 01059
- Greene 01063
- Jackson 01071
- Jefferson 01073
- Lauderdale 01077
- Lawrence 01079
- Lee 01081
- Limestone 01083
- Lowndes 01085
- Macon 01087
- Madison 01089
- Marshall 01095
- Montgomery 01101
- Morgan 01103
- Perry 01105
- Pike 01109
- Russell 01113
- Shelby 01117
- St. Clair 01115
- Sumter 01119
- Tuscaloosa 01125
- Walker 01127
- Washington 01129
- Wilcox 01131
Arkansas view state ↗ 71 N ▾
- Arkansas 05001
- Ashley 05003
- Baxter 05005
- Benton 05007
- Boone 05009
- Bradley 05011
- Carroll 05015
- 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
- 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 ↗ 2 N ▾
District of Columbia view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Georgia view state ↗ 17 N ▾
Illinois view state ↗ 102 N ▾
- Adams 17001
- Alexander 17003
- Bond 17005
- Boone 17007
- Brown 17009
- Bureau 17011
- Calhoun 17013
- Carroll 17015
- Cass 17017
- Champaign 17019
- Christian 17021
- Clark 17023
- Clay 17025
- Clinton 17027
- Coles 17029
- Cook 17031
- Crawford 17033
- Cumberland 17035
- De Witt 17039
- DeKalb 17037
- Douglas 17041
- DuPage 17043
- Edgar 17045
- Edwards 17047
- Effingham 17049
- Fayette 17051
- Ford 17053
- Franklin 17055
- Fulton 17057
- Gallatin 17059
- Greene 17061
- Grundy 17063
- Hamilton 17065
- Hancock 17067
- Hardin 17069
- Henderson 17071
- Henry 17073
- Iroquois 17075
- Jackson 17077
- Jasper 17079
- Jefferson 17081
- Jersey 17083
- Jo Daviess 17085
- Johnson 17087
- Kane 17089
- Kankakee 17091
- Kendall 17093
- Knox 17095
- Lake 17097
- LaSalle 17099
- Lawrence 17101
- Lee 17103
- Livingston 17105
- Logan 17107
- Macon 17115
- Macoupin 17117
- Madison 17119
- Marion 17121
- Marshall 17123
- Mason 17125
- Massac 17127
- McDonough 17109
- McHenry 17111
- McLean 17113
- Menard 17129
- Mercer 17131
- Monroe 17133
- Montgomery 17135
- Morgan 17137
- Moultrie 17139
- Ogle 17141
- Peoria 17143
- Perry 17145
- Piatt 17147
- Pike 17149
- Pope 17151
- Pulaski 17153
- Putnam 17155
- Randolph 17157
- Richland 17159
- Rock Island 17161
- Saline 17165
- Sangamon 17167
- Schuyler 17169
- Scott 17171
- Shelby 17173
- St. Clair 17163
- Stark 17175
- Stephenson 17177
- Tazewell 17179
- Union 17181
- Vermilion 17183
- Wabash 17185
- Warren 17187
- Washington 17189
- Wayne 17191
- White 17193
- Whiteside 17195
- Will 17197
- Williamson 17199
- Winnebago 17201
- Woodford 17203
Indiana view state ↗ 71 N ▾
- Allen 18003
- Bartholomew 18005
- Blackford 18009
- Boone 18011
- Carroll 18015
- Clark 18019
- Clay 18021
- Clinton 18023
- Crawford 18025
- Dearborn 18029
- Decatur 18031
- Delaware 18035
- Dubois 18037
- Elkhart 18039
- Fayette 18041
- Floyd 18043
- Fountain 18045
- Franklin 18047
- Gibson 18051
- Grant 18053
- Greene 18055
- Hamilton 18057
- Harrison 18061
- Hendricks 18063
- Henry 18065
- Huntington 18069
- Jasper 18073
- Jay 18075
- Jefferson 18077
- Jennings 18079
- Knox 18083
- Kosciusko 18085
- Lagrange 18087
- Lawrence 18093
- Madison 18095
- Marion 18097
- Marshall 18099
- Martin 18101
- Miami 18103
- Monroe 18105
- Montgomery 18107
- Morgan 18109
- Newton 18111
- Orange 18117
- Owen 18119
- Parke 18121
- Perry 18123
- Pike 18125
- Porter 18127
- Posey 18129
- Putnam 18133
- Randolph 18135
- Rush 18139
- Shelby 18145
- Spencer 18147
- St. Joseph 18141
- Steuben 18151
- Sullivan 18153
- Switzerland 18155
- Tipton 18159
- Union 18161
- Vanderburgh 18163
- Vermillion 18165
- Vigo 18167
- Wabash 18169
- Warren 18171
- Washington 18175
- Wayne 18177
- Wells 18179
- White 18181
- Whitley 18183
Iowa view state ↗ 13 N ▾
Kansas view state ↗ 33 N ▾
- Allen 20001
- Anderson 20003
- Atchison 20005
- Barton 20009
- Bourbon 20011
- Brown 20013
- Chautauqua 20019
- Cherokee 20021
- Clay 20027
- Coffey 20031
- Crawford 20037
- Doniphan 20043
- Douglas 20045
- Elk 20049
- Franklin 20059
- Greenwood 20073
- Jackson 20085
- Jefferson 20087
- Johnson 20091
- Labette 20099
- Leavenworth 20103
- Linn 20107
- Miami 20121
- Montgomery 20125
- Nemaha 20131
- Neosho 20133
- Osage 20139
- Ottawa 20143
- Riley 20161
- Shawnee 20177
- Wilson 20205
- Woodson 20207
- Wyandotte 20209
Kentucky view state ↗ 100 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
- Christian 21047
- Clark 21049
- Clay 21051
- Clinton 21053
- Crittenden 21055
- Cumberland 21057
- Edmonson 21061
- Elliott 21063
- Estill 21065
- Fayette 21067
- Fleming 21069
- Floyd 21071
- Franklin 21073
- Fulton 21075
- Gallatin 21077
- Garrard 21079
- Grant 21081
- Graves 21083
- Grayson 21085
- Green 21087
- Greenup 21089
- Hardin 21093
- Harlan 21095
- Harrison 21097
- Hart 21099
- Henderson 21101
- Henry 21103
- Hickman 21105
- Hopkins 21107
- Jackson 21109
- Jefferson 21111
- Jessamine 21113
- Kenton 21117
- Knox 21121
- Larue 21123
- Laurel 21125
- Lee 21129
- Leslie 21131
- Letcher 21133
- Lewis 21135
- Lincoln 21137
- Lyon 21143
- Madison 21151
- Magoffin 21153
- Marion 21155
- Marshall 21157
- Mason 21161
- McCreary 21147
- McLean 21149
- Meade 21163
- Menifee 21165
- Mercer 21167
- Metcalfe 21169
- Monroe 21171
- Montgomery 21173
- Morgan 21175
- Nelson 21179
- Nicholas 21181
- Ohio 21183
- Oldham 21185
- Owen 21187
- Pendleton 21191
- Perry 21193
- Pike 21195
- Powell 21197
- Pulaski 21199
- Robertson 21201
- Rockcastle 21203
- Rowan 21205
- Russell 21207
- Scott 21209
- Simpson 21213
- Spencer 21215
- Taylor 21217
- Todd 21219
- Trigg 21221
- Union 21225
- Wayne 21231
- Webster 21233
- Whitley 21235
- Wolfe 21237
- Woodford 21239
Louisiana view state ↗ 33 N ▾
- Acadia 22001
- Avoyelles 22009
- Bienville 22013
- Bossier 22015
- Caddo 22017
- Calcasieu 22019
- Caldwell 22021
- Catahoula 22025
- Claiborne 22027
- De Soto 22031
- Evangeline 22039
- Franklin 22041
- Grant 22043
- Jackson 22049
- Lafayette 22055
- LaSalle 22059
- Lincoln 22061
- Morehouse 22067
- Natchitoches 22069
- Ouachita 22073
- Rapides 22079
- Red River 22081
- Richland 22083
- Sabine 22085
- St. Landry 22097
- Union 22111
- Vermilion 22113
- Vernon 22115
- Washington 22117
- Webster 22119
- West Carroll 22123
- West Feliciana 22125
- Winn 22127
Maine view state ↗ 9 N ▾
Massachusetts view state ↗ 12 N ▾
Michigan view state ↗ 33 N ▾
- Allegan 26005
- Arenac 26011
- Barry 26015
- Benzie 26019
- Berrien 26021
- Calhoun 26025
- Cass 26027
- Clinton 26037
- Genesee 26049
- Gratiot 26057
- Hillsdale 26059
- Ingham 26065
- Ionia 26067
- Isabella 26073
- Jackson 26075
- Kalamazoo 26077
- Kent 26081
- Lapeer 26087
- Lenawee 26091
- Livingston 26093
- Mackinac 26097
- Midland 26111
- Montcalm 26117
- Muskegon 26121
- Oakland 26125
- Saginaw 26145
- Sanilac 26151
- Shiawassee 26155
- St. Clair 26147
- St. Joseph 26149
- Van Buren 26159
- Washtenaw 26161
- Wayne 26163
Minnesota view state ↗ 7 N ▾
Mississippi view state ↗ 18 N ▾
New Hampshire view state ↗ 8 N ▾
New Jersey view state ↗ 18 N ▾
New York view state ↗ 46 N ▾
- Albany 36001
- Bronx 36005
- Broome 36007
- Cattaraugus 36009
- Cayuga 36011
- Chautauqua 36013
- Chemung 36015
- Columbia 36021
- Delaware 36025
- Dutchess 36027
- Erie 36029
- Genesee 36037
- Greene 36039
- Jefferson 36045
- Kings 36047
- Livingston 36051
- Madison 36053
- Monroe 36055
- Montgomery 36057
- Nassau 36059
- New York 36061
- Niagara 36063
- Onondaga 36067
- Ontario 36069
- Orange 36071
- Orleans 36073
- Oswego 36075
- Putnam 36079
- Queens 36081
- Rensselaer 36083
- Richmond 36085
- Rockland 36087
- Saratoga 36091
- Schenectady 36093
- Schoharie 36095
- Schuyler 36097
- Seneca 36099
- St. Lawrence 36089
- Suffolk 36103
- Tioga 36107
- Tompkins 36109
- Ulster 36111
- Warren 36113
- Washington 36115
- Wayne 36117
- Westchester 36119
North Carolina view state ↗ 24 N ▾
- Ashe 37009
- Avery 37011
- Bertie 37015
- Chatham 37037
- Chowan 37041
- Currituck 37053
- Davie 37059
- Durham 37063
- Edgecombe 37065
- Franklin 37069
- Granville 37077
- Guilford 37081
- Harnett 37085
- Hyde 37095
- Johnston 37101
- Lee 37105
- Montgomery 37123
- Moore 37125
- Orange 37135
- Pasquotank 37139
- Polk 37149
- Randolph 37151
- Rowan 37159
- Stanly 37167
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 66 N ▾
- Adams 42001
- 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
- Clarion 42031
- Clearfield 42033
- Clinton 42035
- Columbia 42037
- Crawford 42039
- Cumberland 42041
- Dauphin 42043
- Delaware 42045
- Elk 42047
- Erie 42049
- Fayette 42051
- Forest 42053
- Franklin 42055
- Fulton 42057
- Greene 42059
- Huntingdon 42061
- Indiana 42063
- Jefferson 42065
- Juniata 42067
- Lackawanna 42069
- Lancaster 42071
- Lawrence 42073
- Lebanon 42075
- Lehigh 42077
- Luzerne 42079
- Lycoming 42081
- McKean 42083
- Mercer 42085
- Mifflin 42087
- Monroe 42089
- Montgomery 42091
- Montour 42093
- Northampton 42095
- Northumberland 42097
- Perry 42099
- Philadelphia 42101
- Pike 42103
- Potter 42105
- Schuylkill 42107
- Snyder 42109
- Somerset 42111
- Sullivan 42113
- Susquehanna 42115
- Tioga 42117
- Union 42119
- Venango 42121
- Warren 42123
- Washington 42125
- Wayne 42127
- Westmoreland 42129
- Wyoming 42131
- York 42133
Rhode Island view state ↗ 1 N ▾
South Carolina view state ↗ 4 N ▾
Tennessee view state ↗ 50 N ▾
- Anderson 47001
- Bedford 47003
- Benton 47005
- Blount 47009
- Campbell 47013
- Carroll 47017
- Carter 47019
- Chester 47023
- Cocke 47029
- Coffee 47031
- Crockett 47033
- Cumberland 47035
- Davidson 47037
- Decatur 47039
- Dickson 47043
- Dyer 47045
- Fayette 47047
- Fentress 47049
- Franklin 47051
- Grainger 47057
- Grundy 47061
- Hardin 47071
- Hawkins 47073
- Haywood 47075
- Humphreys 47085
- Jackson 47087
- Johnson 47091
- Knox 47093
- Lauderdale 47097
- Madison 47113
- Monroe 47123
- Montgomery 47125
- Obion 47131
- Polk 47139
- Putnam 47141
- Roane 47145
- Scott 47151
- Sevier 47155
- Shelby 47157
- Smith 47159
- Stewart 47161
- Sumner 47165
- Tipton 47167
- Union 47173
- Van Buren 47175
- Washington 47179
- Wayne 47181
- Weakley 47183
- Williamson 47187
- Wilson 47189
Vermont view state ↗ 8 N ▾
Virginia view state ↗ 54 N ▾
- Albemarle 51003
- Amelia 51007
- Amherst 51009
- Augusta 51015
- Bath 51017
- Bedford 51019
- Bland 51021
- Botetourt 51023
- Buchanan 51027
- Charles City 51036
- Charlotte 51037
- Chesapeake (city) 51550
- Chesterfield 51041
- Clarke 51043
- Dickenson 51051
- Fauquier 51061
- Floyd 51063
- Franklin 51067
- Frederick 51069
- Giles 51071
- Gloucester 51073
- Goochland 51075
- Greene 51079
- Greensville 51081
- Halifax 51083
- Hampton (city) 51650
- Henrico 51087
- Highland 51091
- King George 51099
- King William 51101
- Lee 51105
- Madison 51113
- Mecklenburg 51117
- Montgomery 51121
- Nelson 51125
- Orange 51137
- Page 51139
- Pittsylvania 51143
- Powhatan 51145
- Rappahannock 51157
- Roanoke 51161
- Rockbridge 51163
- Rockingham 51165
- Russell 51167
- Scott 51169
- Shenandoah 51171
- Smyth 51173
- Southampton 51175
- Sussex 51183
- Virginia Beach (city) 51810
- Warren 51187
- Washington 51191
- Wise 51195
- York 51199
West Virginia view state ↗ 38 N ▾
- Barbour 54001
- Berkeley 54003
- Braxton 54007
- Brooke 54009
- Cabell 54011
- Doddridge 54017
- Gilmer 54021
- Grant 54023
- Greenbrier 54025
- Hampshire 54027
- Hancock 54029
- Hardy 54031
- Harrison 54033
- Jackson 54035
- Jefferson 54037
- Kanawha 54039
- Lewis 54041
- Marion 54049
- Mineral 54057
- Monongalia 54061
- Monroe 54063
- Morgan 54065
- Nicholas 54067
- Pocahontas 54075
- Preston 54077
- Putnam 54079
- Raleigh 54081
- Ritchie 54085
- Roane 54087
- Summers 54089
- Taylor 54091
- Tyler 54095
- Upshur 54097
- Wayne 54099
- Webster 54101
- Wetzel 54103
- Wirt 54105
- Wood 54107
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/CAOV2 ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/3054296 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T07:25:30Z