Carya cordiformis, bitternut hickory
Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Carya cordiformis, bitternut hickory. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/carcor
| Abbreviation | Common Name | Scientific Name | Classification | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plants | ||||
| CARCOR | bitternut hickory | Carya cordiformis | Life Form: Plants/Tree Kingdom: Plantae Class: Dicot Order: Juglandales Family: Juglandaceae Genus: Carya | Fed. Protected: No Nativity: Native Invasiveness: Noninvasive |
Taxonomy
The currently accepted scientific name for bitternut hickory is Carya cordiformis (Wangenh.) K. Koch [3,18]. There are no recognized subspecies, varieties, or forms.
Bitternut hickory naturally hybridizes with the following [26]:
- C. illinoensis (C. X brownii Sarg.)
- C. glabra (C. X demareei Palmer)
- C. ovata (C. X laneyi Sarg.)
Synonyms
- None
Other Common Names
bitternut, swamp hickory, pignut hickory
General Distribution
Bitternut hickory's range extends from southwestern New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and southern Quebec; west to southern Ontario, central Michigan, and northern Minnesota, and south to eastern Texas and northern Florida. It is most common from southern New England west to Iowa and from southern Michigan south to Kentucky [3,13,22,26].
States and Provinces
- United States: AL AR CT DE FL GA IN IA KS LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO NE NH NJ NY OH OK PA RI SC TX VT VA WV WI
- Canada: ON PQ
- Mexico
Site Characteristics
In the northern parts of its range, bitternut hickory occurs on a variety of sites [5,14]. It is found on rich, loamy or gravelly soil, low wet woods, and along borders of streams, but is also found on dry uplands [31]. In the south, bitternut is more restricted to moist sites than in the north. It reaches it largest size on the rich bottomlands of the lower Ohio River Basin [5]. In the southwestern parts of its range, bitternut hickory is common on poor, dry, gravelly upland soils. Bitternut hickory is absent from the mountain forests of northern New England and New York, and it is not found at the higher elevations in the Appalachians [25].
Principal tree associates are listed in Table A1. Other common tree associates include hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), butternut (Juglans cinerea), and hackberry (Celtis occidentalis). Common understory associates include largeflower bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora), Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), wood-nettle (Laportea canadensis), and violets (Viola spp.) [20,26].
Plant Communities
No entry.
Botanical Description
Bitternut hickory, Indiana.
Bitternut hickory is a medium-to-large native, deciduous tree, typically reaching a height of 60 to 80 feet (18-24 m) [11,13]. Under a forest canopy, it develops a long branch-free trunk with little taper, and a short rounded crown of slender ascending branches that broaden the crown toward the top. The branchlets are sparse and tend to droop slightly from the main ascending branches. The leaves are long and slender [9,16].
Raunkiaer Life Form (Raunkiaer 1934)
- Phanerophyte
Seasonal Development
Bitternut hickory flowers in April or May. The fruit ripens in September and October and is dispersed from September through December [3,6].
Regeneration Processes
Seed production and dissemination
Bitternut hickory does not produce abundant seed until the tree is approximately 30 years old [16]. Optimum seed production extends from 50 to 125 years; trees that are more than 175 years old seldom produce seed crops. Good seed crops appear at 3- to 5-year intervals, with light seed crops borne in the intervening years. Bitternut hickory seed is estimated to be from 75 to 85 percent viable. Seed dissemination is almost entirely by gravity [26].
Bitternut hickory seed.
Seedling development
Bitternut hickory is probably more tolerant of a moist seedbed than other hickories and is the least susceptible to frost damage. Germination is hypogeal. Bitternut hickory seedlings grown in the open or light shade in the Ohio Valley were 13.3 inches (34 cm) at 4 years; sprouts of 1-year-old seedlings grown on red clay averaged 11 inches (28 cm) [26].
Vegetative reproduction
Bitternut hickory is the most prolific root- and stump-sprouter of the northern species of hickories, with sprouts arising from stumps, root crown, and roots. Most sprouts from sapling and pole-size trees are root crown sprouts, while those from sawtimber-size trees are mostly root sprouts. Stump sprouts are less numerous than either root crown sprouts or root suckers [26].
Successional Status
Bitternut hickory is generally classified as intolerant of shade but bitternut hickory seedlings appear to be more tolerant on overflow bottomlands than most of its associates [26]. Top dieback and resprouting may occur frequently with each successive shoot attaining a larger size and developing a stronger root system than its predecessor. By this process, hickory reproduction gradually accumulates and develops under moderate canopies, especially on sites dry enough to restrict reproduction of more tolerant, but more fire- or drought-sensitive species [7,8,26].
Immediate Fire Effects
Most fires top-kill the aboveground portions of the plant [26].
Postfire Regeneration Strategy (Stickney 1989)
- survivor species; on-site surviving root crown or caudex
- off-site colonizer; seed carried by animals or water; postfire yr 1&2
Fire Adaptations
Bitternut hickory saplings are easily damaged by fire; older trees are also susceptible to fire damage because of the low insulating capacity of the bark [26].
Plant Response to Fire
Bitternut hickory can sprout from the stump, root crown, or roots following fire [26].
The Research Paper by Bowles and others 2007 provides information on postfire response of several plant species, including bitternut hickory, that was not available when this species review was originally written.
Fire Regimes
For fire regime information, search FEIS for this species by entering the species name or acronym on the home page and selecting “Fire Regime” as the publication type.
Fire Management Considerations
Periodic burning effectively controlled bitternut hickory on the Kansas prairie [4].
The absence of fire increased the expansion of the Oak-Hickory association in eastern Nebraska [25].
Federal Status
None
Other Status
No entry.
Importance to Wildlife and Livestock
Bitternut hickory fruit is generally considered unpalatable to wildlife [28]. Rabbits, beavers, and small rodents will occasionally feed on the bark of bitternut hickory [26].
Palatability and Nutritional Value
The foliage of bitternut hickory has a high calcium content [26].
Cover Value
Bitternut hickory provides nesting sites for a variety of cavity-nesting birds in the Missouri oak-hickory forest [1].
Value for Rehabilitation or Restoration of Disturbed Sites
The deep lateral roots of bitternut hickory make it a valuable species for watershed protection. Bitternut hickory has been grown successfully on zinc mine waste sites in southwestern Wisconsin [2].
Other Uses
Smoke from the wood of bitternut hickory is used to give hams and bacon a "hickory smoked" flavor [16,23].
The hardwood of bitternut hickory is used for making tools, furniture, paneling, dowels, and ladders. Bitternut hickory is also desirable for charcoal and fuelwood [16,26].
Other Management Considerations
Establishing hickory trees from seedlings is difficult because of seed predators. Infrequent bumper crops usually produce some seedlings, but seedling survival is poor under a dense canopy. Wherever advance reproduction is adequate, clearcutting results in fast-growing sapling stands. If there is no advance hickory reproduction, clearcutting eliminates hickories except for stump sprouts. Light thinnings or shelterwood cuts can be used to create advance hickory regeneration [15,21,26].
In three studies that were carried out in adjacent fields in southern Ontario, attempts to establish bitternut hickory in open-field plantations were unsuccessful. Sowing of nuts was the least successful method of afforestation because either germination or height increments were too low [30].
Table A1— Forest and range ecosystems, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) physiographic regions, Kuchler plant associations, Society for American Foresters (SAF) forest cover types, and Society for Rangeland Management (SRM) rangeland cover types in which this species occurs.
Forest and Range Ecosystems (Garrison et al. 1977)
- FRES10 White - red - jack pine
- FRES11 Spruce - fir
- FRES12 Longleaf - slash pine
- FRES13 Loblolly - shortleaf pine
- FRES14 Oak - pine
- FRES15 Oak - hickory
- FRES16 Oak - gum - cypress
- FRES17 Elm - ash - cottonwood
- FRES18 Maple - beech - birch
BLM Physiographic Regions (Bernard and Brown 1977)
- No entry.
Kuchler Plant Associations (Kuchler 1964)
- K089 Black Belt
- K095 Great Lakes pine forest
- K096 Northeastern spruce - fir forest
- K097 Southern spruce - fir forest
- K099 Maple - basswood forest
- K100 Oak - hickory forest
- K101 Elm - ash forest
- K102 Beech - maple forest
- K103 Mixed mesophytic forest
- K104 Appalachian oak forest
- K106 Northern hardwoods
- K107 Northern hardwoods - fir forest
- K108 Northern hardwoods - spruce forest
- K110 Northeastern oak - pine forest
- K111 Oak - hickory - pine forest
- K112 Southern mixed forest
- K113 Southern floodplain forest
- K114 Pocosin
SAF Cover Types (Eyre 1980)
- 21 Eastern white pine
- 22 White pine - hemlock
- 23 Eastern hemlock
- 24 Hemlock - yellow birch
- 25 Sugar maple - beech - yellow birch
- 26 Sugar maple - basswood
- 27 Sugar maple
- 28 Black cherry - maple
- 39 Black ash - American elm - red maple
- 40 Post oak - blackjack oak
- 42 Bur oak
- 43 Bear oak
- 44 Chestnut oak
- 45 Pitch pine
- 46 Eastern redcedar
- 51 White pine - chestnut oak
- 52 White oak - black oak - northern red oak
- 53 White oak
- 55 Northern red oak
- 57 Yellow-poplar
- 58 Yellow-poplar - eastern hemlock
- 59 Yellow-poplar - white oak - northern red oak
- 60 Beech sugar maple
- 64 Sassafras - persimmon
- 75 Shortleaf pine
- 76 Shortleaf pine - oak
- 78 Virginia pine - oak
- 79 Virginia pine
- 80 Loblolly pine - shortleaf pine
- 82 Loblolly pine - hardwood
- 83 Longleaf pine - slash pine
- 87 Sweetgum - yellow poplar
- 91 Swamp chestnut oak - cherrybrak oak
- 103 Water tupelo - swamp tupelo
- 108 Red maple
- 110 Black oak
SRM Rangeland Cover Types (Shiflet 1994)
- No entry.
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