Nutmeg Hickory
Encyclopedia
Carya myristiciformis, the Nutmeg Hickory, of the Juglandaceae
or Walnut family, also called swamp hickory or bitter water hickory, is found as small, possibly relict
populations across the Southern United States
and in northern Mexico
on rich moist soils of higher bottom lands and stream banks. Little is known of the growth rate of nutmeg hickory. Logs and lumber are sold mixed with other hickories. The nuts are an oil-rich food for wildlife.
, eastern South Carolina
, central Alabama
and Mississippi
, northern Louisiana
, southern Arkansas
, eastern Texas
, and northern Mexico. The species is typically found in river bottomlands with calcareous soil or marl
ridges.. The species is abundant only near Selma, Alabama
, and in southern Arkansas. Nutmeg hickory has a native range nearly identical with that of Durand Oak (Q. durandii var. durandii). Both may be relics of a more ancient flora than now occupies the region.
Type 91) . Other prominent associates in this type include white ash
(Fraxinus americana); shagbark hickory(Carya ovata), shellbark hickory(Carya laciniosa), mockernut hickory(C. tomentosa), and bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis); Shumard oak
(Quercus shumardii); and blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica). Less important associates are willow oak
(Quercus phellos), water oak
(Qercus nigra), and Durand oaks
(Quercus durandii); American elm
(Ulmus americana) and winged elms (Ulmus alata); yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera); and American beech
(Fagus grandifolia). Some common small trees and shrubs occurring with nutmeg hickory are eastern hophornbeam (Ostrya uirginiana), American hornbeam
(Carpinus caroliniana), flowering dogwood
(Cornus florida), and oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia). One survey near Charleston, SC, found red buckeye
(Aesculus pavia), eastern redbud
(Cercis canadensis), and witch-hazel
(Hamamelis virginiana) associated with nutmeg hickory.
s, developing at the shoot base. The female flowers are in short spikes on peduncles
at the end of the shoot. Flowering occurs from April to May, shortly after the leaves have started to open. Specifies of pollen production, dissemination and pollination are not known. The sweet, edible nut matures from September to October of the same year and falls between September and December. Its ellipsoidal shell is thick and hard.
Seed production starts when the trees are about 30 years old, and optimum seed-bearing age is 50 to 125 years . Good seed crops are produced every 2 to 3 years. As many as 70 liters (2 bu) can be produced by an open-grown tree. Seeds are disseminated by various methods, including squirrels and water.
The seeds of this species germinate from late April to early June. Germination is hypogeal
. Burial of seeds by squirrels seems to be important, but it is not necessary for the successful establishment of seedlings.
Specific information on the vegetative reproduction of nutmeg hickory is not available. Like other hickories, it probably sprouts readily from small stumps, injured or top-killed seedlings and saplings, and from roots. Large stumps do not readily sprout, hence the larger the stump, the more likely that it will reproduce only by root suckers.
Although the pecan hickories (which include nutmeg hickory) grow more rapidly than the true hickories , specific information on the growth rate of nutmeg hickory is lacking. The pecan hickories, in turn, grow more slowly than most other bottom-land hardwoods. The average 10-year diameter increase for hickories in natural, unmanaged stands in the northeast Louisiana delta was 4.3 cm (1.7 in) in the 15- to 30-cm (6- to 12-in) diameter class; 3.3 cm (1.3 in) in the 33- to 48-cm (13- to 19-in) diameter class; and 3.8 cm (1.5 in) in the 51- to 71-cm (20- to 28-in) diameter class .
Pure stands of nutmeg hickory probably do not exist, and no volume figures are available. Logs and lumber from merchantable nutmeg hickory are sold mixed with other hickories.
Rooting Habit- Nutmeg hickory has a strongly developed taproot, especially on well-drained soil. Seedlings of hickory quickly develop a heavy taproot and fine lateral roots. During the pole stage, a robust, spreading lateral root system is developed.
Nutmeg hickory is classed as intolerant of shade. It is intolerant as a mature tree, but tolerant in the seedling and sapling stage during which it may survive for a long time in the understory and then respond to release . Any partial cutting system that removes larger, faster-growing competition encourages nutmeg hickory.
Fire damages hickory of all ages. A light burn kills the tops of seedlings and saplings; a more intense fire wounds larger trees and provides entry for butt-rotting fungi.
Several insects attack hickory but rarely become epidemic . The forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria), walnut caterpillar
(Datana integerima), and walkingstick (Diapheromera femorata) may defoliate individual trees or limbs. Sucking insects, including aphid
s (Monellia spp.), feed on the underside of leaves, causing them to curl and drop prematurely. The twig girdler
(Oncideres cingulata) may seriously prune seedlings and even large trees by girdling the terminal and branches. The hickory bark beetle (Scolytus quadrispinosus) can be troublesome during dry years and periods of stress.
The ambrosia beetle
(Platypus spp. and Xyleborus spp.) and powderpost beetle
s (Lyctus spp. and Xylobiops basilaris) often cause economic damage to logs and lumber during storage and air-drying.
No important diseases of hickory other than a number of wood rots have been reported. Bird peck defect, caused by the yellow-bellied sapsucker
, is common and serious in nutmeg hickory.
Juglandaceae
The Juglandaceae, also known as the Walnut Family, is a family of trees, or sometimes shrubs, in the order Fagales. Various members of this family are native to the Americas, Eurasia, and Southeast Asia....
or Walnut family, also called swamp hickory or bitter water hickory, is found as small, possibly relict
Relict
A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon.* In biology a relict is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas....
populations across the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
and in northern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
on rich moist soils of higher bottom lands and stream banks. Little is known of the growth rate of nutmeg hickory. Logs and lumber are sold mixed with other hickories. The nuts are an oil-rich food for wildlife.
Native range
Nutmeg hickory is the rarest species in the genus, occurring in a few areas scattered in southeastern North CarolinaNorth Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, eastern South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, central Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
and Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, northern Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, southern Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, eastern Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and northern Mexico. The species is typically found in river bottomlands with calcareous soil or marl
Marl
Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...
ridges.. The species is abundant only near Selma, Alabama
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, and in southern Arkansas. Nutmeg hickory has a native range nearly identical with that of Durand Oak (Q. durandii var. durandii). Both may be relics of a more ancient flora than now occupies the region.
Climate
Precipitation within the range of nutmeg hickory varies from 1020 to 1400 mm (40 to 55 in) per year, 510 mm (20 in) or more falling during the growing season. The frost-free period of most of the native range is about 240 days. Summers are warm and dry in the western portion of the range, but warm and wet in the South Carolina disjuncts. July temperatures average about 27°C (80°F). January temperatures average between 7° and 10°C (45° and 50°F). Extremes of temperature are -23° to 43°C (-10° to 110°F).Soils and topography
Nutmeg hickory grows on a variety of loamy, silty, or clayey soils that may be described as moist, but well or moderately well drained and amply supplied with mineral nutrients. The species most often is found in minor stream bottoms, on second bottom flats, and on slopes or bluffs near streams. The principal soils on which nutmeg hickory is generally found are in the orders Alfisols and Inceptisols.Associated forest cover
Nutmeg hickory is not an important species in any forest cover type and is only a minor associate in Swamp Chestnut Oak-Cherrybark Oak (Society of American ForestersSociety of American Foresters
The Society of American Foresters is a scientific and educational 501 non-profit organization, representing the forestry profession in the United States of America...
Type 91) . Other prominent associates in this type include white ash
White Ash
For another species referred to as white ash, see Eucalyptus fraxinoides.Fraxinus americana is a species of Fraxinus native to eastern North America found in mesophytic hardwood forests from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, south to northern Florida, and southwest to eastern...
(Fraxinus americana); shagbark hickory(Carya ovata), shellbark hickory(Carya laciniosa), mockernut hickory(C. tomentosa), and bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis); Shumard oak
Shumard Oak
Quercus shumardii, the Shumard Oak, Spotted Oak, Schneck Oak, Shumard Red Oak, or Swamp Red Oak, is one of the largest of the oak species in the red oak group...
(Quercus shumardii); and blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica). Less important associates are willow oak
Willow Oak
Quercus phellos is a deciduous tree in the red oak group of oaks. It is native to eastern North America from southern New York south to northern Florida, and west to southernmost Illinois and eastern Texas...
(Quercus phellos), water oak
Water oak
Quercus nigra, the Water Oak, is an oak in the red oak group , native to the southeastern United States, from southern Delaware and south to the coastal areas of Maryland, Virginia, the piedmont of North Carolina, all of South Carolina, most of Georgia , all of Alabama, Mississippi, central...
(Qercus nigra), and Durand oaks
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
(Quercus durandii); American elm
American Elm
Ulmus americana, generally known as the American Elm or, less commonly, as the White Elm or Water Elm, is a species native to eastern North America, occurring from Nova Scotia west to Alberta and Montana, and south to Florida and central Texas. The American elm is an extremely hardy tree that can...
(Ulmus americana) and winged elms (Ulmus alata); yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera); and American beech
American Beech
Fagus grandifolia, also known as American Beech or North american beech, is a species of beech native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario in southeastern Canada, west to Wisconsin and south to eastern Texas and northern Florida in the United States. Trees in the...
(Fagus grandifolia). Some common small trees and shrubs occurring with nutmeg hickory are eastern hophornbeam (Ostrya uirginiana), American hornbeam
American Hornbeam
Carpinus caroliniana is a small hardwood tree in the genus Carpinus. American hornbeam is also occasionally known as blue-beech, ironwood, or musclewood. It is native to eastern North America, from Minnesota and southern Ontario east to Maine, and south to eastern Texas and northern Florida...
(Carpinus caroliniana), flowering dogwood
Flowering Dogwood
Cornus florida is a species of dogwood native to eastern North America, from southern Maine west to southern Ontario, Illinois, and eastern Kansas, and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas, with a disjunct population in Nuevo León and Veracruz in eastern Mexico.-Classification:The flowering...
(Cornus florida), and oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia). One survey near Charleston, SC, found red buckeye
Red Buckeye
Aesculus pavia, known as Red Buckeye or Firecracker Plant, is a species of deciduous flowering plant. The small tree or shrub is native to the southern and eastern parts of the United States, found from Illinois to Virginia in the north and from Texas to Florida in the south...
(Aesculus pavia), eastern redbud
Eastern Redbud
Cercis canadensis L. is a large shrub or small tree native to eastern North America from Southern Ontario, Canada south to northern Florida, United States....
(Cercis canadensis), and witch-hazel
Witch-hazel
Witch-hazel is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae, with three species in North America , and one each in Japan and China...
(Hamamelis virginiana) associated with nutmeg hickory.
Reproduction and early growth
The species is monoecious and forms imperfect flowers. Both male and female flowers are found on the current year's growth. The male flowers are long-stalked catkinCatkin
A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster, with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated but sometimes insect pollinated . They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arranged closely along a central stem which is often drooping...
s, developing at the shoot base. The female flowers are in short spikes on peduncles
Peduncle (botany)
In botany, a peduncle is a stem supporting an inflorescence, or after fecundation, an infructescence.The peduncle is a stem, usually green and without leaves, though sometimes colored or supporting small leaves...
at the end of the shoot. Flowering occurs from April to May, shortly after the leaves have started to open. Specifies of pollen production, dissemination and pollination are not known. The sweet, edible nut matures from September to October of the same year and falls between September and December. Its ellipsoidal shell is thick and hard.
Seed production starts when the trees are about 30 years old, and optimum seed-bearing age is 50 to 125 years . Good seed crops are produced every 2 to 3 years. As many as 70 liters (2 bu) can be produced by an open-grown tree. Seeds are disseminated by various methods, including squirrels and water.
The seeds of this species germinate from late April to early June. Germination is hypogeal
Hypogeal
Hypogeal means "underground".* In botany, a seed is described as hypogeal when the cotyledons of the germinating seed remain non-photosynthetic, inside the seed shell, and below ground...
. Burial of seeds by squirrels seems to be important, but it is not necessary for the successful establishment of seedlings.
Specific information on the vegetative reproduction of nutmeg hickory is not available. Like other hickories, it probably sprouts readily from small stumps, injured or top-killed seedlings and saplings, and from roots. Large stumps do not readily sprout, hence the larger the stump, the more likely that it will reproduce only by root suckers.
Sapling and pole stages to maturity
Nutmeg hickory is a medium-sized tree with a tall, straight trunk and stout, slightly spreading branches that form a narrow and rather open crown. It can attain heights of 24 to 30 in (80 to 100 ft) and a diameter of 61 cm (24 in).Although the pecan hickories (which include nutmeg hickory) grow more rapidly than the true hickories , specific information on the growth rate of nutmeg hickory is lacking. The pecan hickories, in turn, grow more slowly than most other bottom-land hardwoods. The average 10-year diameter increase for hickories in natural, unmanaged stands in the northeast Louisiana delta was 4.3 cm (1.7 in) in the 15- to 30-cm (6- to 12-in) diameter class; 3.3 cm (1.3 in) in the 33- to 48-cm (13- to 19-in) diameter class; and 3.8 cm (1.5 in) in the 51- to 71-cm (20- to 28-in) diameter class .
Pure stands of nutmeg hickory probably do not exist, and no volume figures are available. Logs and lumber from merchantable nutmeg hickory are sold mixed with other hickories.
Rooting Habit- Nutmeg hickory has a strongly developed taproot, especially on well-drained soil. Seedlings of hickory quickly develop a heavy taproot and fine lateral roots. During the pole stage, a robust, spreading lateral root system is developed.
Nutmeg hickory is classed as intolerant of shade. It is intolerant as a mature tree, but tolerant in the seedling and sapling stage during which it may survive for a long time in the understory and then respond to release . Any partial cutting system that removes larger, faster-growing competition encourages nutmeg hickory.
Fire damages hickory of all ages. A light burn kills the tops of seedlings and saplings; a more intense fire wounds larger trees and provides entry for butt-rotting fungi.
Several insects attack hickory but rarely become epidemic . The forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria), walnut caterpillar
Datana
Datana is a genus of moths of the Notodontidae family.-Species:*Datana ministra *Datana angusii Grote & Robinson, 1866*Datana drexelii Hy...
(Datana integerima), and walkingstick (Diapheromera femorata) may defoliate individual trees or limbs. Sucking insects, including aphid
Aphid
Aphids, also known as plant lice and in Britain and the Commonwealth as greenflies, blackflies or whiteflies, are small sap sucking insects, and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests on cultivated plants in temperate regions...
s (Monellia spp.), feed on the underside of leaves, causing them to curl and drop prematurely. The twig girdler
Oncideres cingulata
Oncideres Cingulata The Oncideres cingulata is a brownish-gray beetle typically 1/2 to 5/8 inch in length in the Family Cerambycidae. It is characterized by long antennae, 1/2 to 1 inch long....
(Oncideres cingulata) may seriously prune seedlings and even large trees by girdling the terminal and branches. The hickory bark beetle (Scolytus quadrispinosus) can be troublesome during dry years and periods of stress.
The ambrosia beetle
Ambrosia beetle
Ambrosia beetles are beetles of the weevil subfamilies Scolytinae and Platypodinae , which live in nutritional symbiosis with ambrosia fungi and probably with bacteria...
(Platypus spp. and Xyleborus spp.) and powderpost beetle
Powderpost beetle
Powderpost beetles are a group of seventy species of woodboring beetles classified in the insect subfamily Lyctinae. These beetles, along with spider beetles, death watch beetles, common furniture beetles, skin beetles, and others, make up the superfamily Bostrichoidea. While most woodborers have a...
s (Lyctus spp. and Xylobiops basilaris) often cause economic damage to logs and lumber during storage and air-drying.
No important diseases of hickory other than a number of wood rots have been reported. Bird peck defect, caused by the yellow-bellied sapsucker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is a medium-sized woodpecker found in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.-Taxonomy:...
, is common and serious in nutmeg hickory.