Carya tomentosa, commonly known as mockernut hickory, mockernut, white hickory, whiteheart hickory, hognut, bullnut, is a species of tree in the walnut family Juglandaceae. The most abundant of the hickories, and common in the eastern half of the United States, 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 excellent fuel wood, as well. The leaves turn yellow in Autumn.
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.
Habitat
Native range
Mockernut hickory, a true hickory, grows from Massachusetts and New York west to southern Ontario, and northern Illinois; then to southeastern Iowa, Missouri, and eastern Kansas, south to eastern Texas and east to northern Florida. This species is not present in Michigan, New Hampshire and Vermont as previously mapped by Little. Mockernut hickory is most abundant southward through Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida, where it is the most common of the hickories. It is also abundant in the lower Mississippi Valley and grows largest in the lower Ohio River Basin and in Missouri and Arkansas.
Climate
The climate where mockernut hickory grows is usually humid. Within its range, the mean annual precipitation measures from in the north to in the south. During the growing season (April through September), annual precipitation varies from . About of annual snowfall is common in the northern part of the range, but snow is rare in the southern portion.
Annual temperatures range from 10 to 21 °C (50 to 70 °F). Monthly average temperatures range from 21 to 27 °C (70 to 80 °F) in July and from -7 to 16 °C (20 to 60 °F) in January. Temperature extremes are well above and below . The growing season is about 160 days in the northern part of the range and up to 320 days in the southern part of the range.
Soils and topography
In the north, mockernut hickory is found on drier soils of ridges and hillsides and less frequently on moist woodlands and alluvial bottoms. The species grows and develops best on deep, fertile soils. In the Cumberland Mountains and hills of southern Indiana, it grows on dry sites such as south and west slopes or dry ridges. In Alabama and Mississippi, it grows on sandy soils with shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) and loblolly pine (P taeda). However, most of the merchantable mockernut grows on moderately fertile upland soils.
Mockernut hickory grows primarily on ultisols occurring on an estimated 65% of its range, including much of the southern to northeastern United States. These soils are low in nutrients and usually moist, but during the warm season, they are dry part of the time. Along the mid-Atlantic and in the southern and western range, mockernut hickory grows on a variety of soils on slopes of 25% or less, including combinations of fine to coarse loams, clays, and well-drained quartz sands. On slopes steeper than 25%, mockernut often grows on coarse loams.
Mockernut grows on inceptisols in an estimated 15% of its range. These clayey soils are moderate to high in nutrients and are primarily in the Appalachians on gentle to moderate slopes, where water is available to plants during the growing season. In the northern Appalachians on slopes of 25% or less, mockernut hickory grows on poorly drained loams with a fragipan. In the central and southern Appalachians on slopes 25% or less, mockernut hickory grows on fine loams. On steeper slopes, it grows on coarse loams.
In the northwestern part of the range, mockernut grows on mollisols. These soils have a deep, fertile surface horizon greater than thick. Mollisols characteristically form under grass in climates with moderate to high seasonal precipitation.
Mockernut grows on a variety of soils including wet, fine loams, sandy textured soils that often have been burned, plowed, and pastured. Alfisols are also present in these areas and contain a medium to high supply of nutrients. Water is available to plants more than half the year or more than three consecutive months during the growing season. On slopes of 25% or less, mockernut grows on wet to moist, fine loam soils with a high carbonate content.