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.Halls, Lowell K., ed. 1977. Mockernut history, Carya tomentosa.
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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.
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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.
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Hickories are noted for their variability, with many natural hybrids known among North American Carya species. Hickories usually can be crossed successfully within the genus. Geneticists recognize that mockernut hickory hybridizes naturally with C. illinoensis (Carya x schneckii Sarg.) and C. ovata (Carya x collina Laughlin). Mockernut readily hybridizes with tetraploid C. texana.
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On slopes of 25% or less, mockernut grows on wet to moist, fine loam soils with a high carbonate content.
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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.U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service 1975. Soil taxonomy: a basic system of soil classification for making and interpreting soil surveys.
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Silvical characteristics of mockernut hickory. USDA Forest Service, Station Paper 105. Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, Asheville, NC. 10 p.Nelson, Thomas C. 1965.
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Madden discussed the techniques for selecting, packing, and storing hickory propagation wood. Reed indicated that the most tested hickory species for root stock for pecan hickory grafts were mockernut and water hickory (Carya aquatica). However, mockernut root stock grew slowly and reduced the growth of pecan tops. Also, this graft seldom produced a tree that bore well or yielded large nuts.
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Carya tomentosa, (mockernut hickory, mockernut, white hickory, whiteheart hickory, hognut, bullnut) is a tree in the Juglandaceae or walnut family. The most abundant of the hickories, common in the eastern half of the US, 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.
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Around 50 to 75% of fresh seed will germinate. Fourteen mockernut hickory trees in southeastern Ohio produced an average annual crop of 6,285 nuts for 6 years; about 39% were sound, 48% aborted, and 13% had insect damage. Hickory shuckworm (Laspeyresia caryana) is probably a major factor in reducing germination. Mockernut hickory produces one of the heaviest seeds of the hickory species; cleaned seeds range from 70 to 250 seeds/kg (32 to 113/lb).
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Mockernut hickory is monoecious - male and female flowers are produced on the same tree. Mockernut male flowers are catkins about long and may be produced on branches from axils of leaves of the previous season or from the inner scales of the terminal buds at the base of the current growth. The female flowers appear in short spikes on peduncles terminating in shoots of the current year. Flowers bloom in the spring from April to May, depending on latitude and weather.
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Land animals consumed included deer, black bear, panther, opossum, rabbits, squirrel, skunk, rats, and foxes. Identified plant remains include hickory (especially mockernut hickory), pine nuts, acorns, Chickasaw plum, persimmon, and wild cherry (Carolina cherry laurel). There is no evidence that the Cades Pond people cultivated any crops.
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At certain times during its life, mockernut hickory may be variously classified as tolerant to intolerant. Overall it is classified as intolerant of shade. It recovers rapidly from suppression and is probably a climax species on moist sites. Silvicultural practices for managing the oak-hickory type have been summarized.
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Rhodora 75(801):34-35. 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.Nelson, Thomas C. 1959.
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These forests occur on dry and dry-mesic sites and are dominated by oaks and hickories. These habitats are protected from fires by either steep topography, isolation, or limited flammability of the vegetation. Typical canopy species include white oak (Quercus alba), sand laurel oak (Quercus hemisphaerica), mockernut hickory (Carya tomentosa), and pignut hickory (Carya glabra).
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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.
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The seed is dispersed from September through December. Mockernut hickory requires a minimum of 25 years to reach commercial seed-bearing age. Optimum seed production occurs from 40 to 125 years, and the maximum age listed for commercial seed production is 200 years. Good seed crops occur every two to three years with light seed crops in intervening years.
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True hickories such as mockernut develop a long taproot with few laterals. Early root growth is primarily into the taproot, which typically reaches a depth of during the first year. Small laterals originate along the taproot, but many die back during the fall. During the second year, the taproot may reach a depth of , and the laterals grow rapidly.
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Mockernut is a 64-chromosome species, so rarely crosses with 32-chromosome species such as pecan or shellbark hickory. No published information exists concerning population or other genetic studies of this species. Efforts are currently underway to map the genome of pecan in a collaborative effort. The genome map at some point may expand to cover other hickory species.
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Chestnut oak (Quercus prinus) is found on ridgetops. The hickories (Carya spp.) of this ecoregion are identifiable by their pinnately compound leaves. They include pignut (Carya glabra) and mockernut hickory (Carya tomentosa), both of which grow on a variety of sites from dry ridges to mesic habitats. Understory trees include sassafras (Sassafras albidum), hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), and green hawthorn (Crataegus viridis).
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High winds, salt spray, and sandy soil provide a harsh environment for plant life. Maritime forests are composed of deciduous, coniferous, and broadleaf evergreens. Some of the trees that occupy maritime forests include the southern sugar maple, swamp dogwood, mockernut hickory, white ash, and the white poplar. Many plants in the Maritime Forests have a natural waxy coating to protect them from the salt spray.
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The leaves turn yellow in Autumn. The species' name comes from the Latin word tomentum, meaning "covered with dense, short hairs," referring to the underside of the leaves, which help identify the species. Also called the white hickory due to the light color of the wood, the common name mockernut comes from the large, thick-shelled fruit with very small kernels of meat inside.
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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.Manning, W. E. 1973. The northern limits of the distributions of hickories in New England.
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The federally endangered northeastern bulrush also grows on it. Numerous species use the mountain as a habitat. In addition to hemlock, the main tree species on the mountain include yellow birch, black birch, black gum, sugar maple, red maple, white oak, chestnut oak, red oak, white pine, sassafras, basswood, tulip poplar, pignut hickory, mockernut hickory, shagbark hickory, and ash. Numerous shrub species inhabit Central Mountain.
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The Appomattox-Buckingham State Forest is a state forest located in the Piedmont of Virginia in Appomattox and Buckingham counties. Its are covered with a mix of oak-hickory and pine forest. Dominant tree species include oaks (white, chestnut, black, northern red, southern red and scarlet), hickories (mockernut and pignut), yellow poplar, red maple, and pines (loblolly, shortleaf, and Virginia). It is the largest state forest in Virginia.
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U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook 436. Washington, DC 754 p. 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.
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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.
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Other canopy species include American beech, black oak, northern red oak, southern red oak, pignut hickory, bitternut hickory, mockernut hickory, winged elm and red maple. Eastern flowering dogwood, sourwood, umbrella magnolia and eastern redbud are prominent among the smaller trees. The forest floor is covered by many shrub, wildflower, and fern species. Common animals include raccoon, coyote, opossum, gray squirrel, chipmunk, American crow, pileated woodpecker, box turtle and several snake species, including the venomous copperhead.
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It contains fragmentary examples of the ecosystem described in its name. The Sand Prairie-Scrub Oak Nature Preserve is described on its webpage as "a mixture of dry sand prairie, dry sand savanna and dry sand forest." Areas of savanna and forest are characterized by black oak and blackjack oak, with some mockernut. In a 2015 research and inspection fan-out, arborists discovered the first example of dwarf chinkapin oak identified in Illinois.
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Shellbark hickory grows best on deep, fertile, moist soils, most typical of the order Alfisols. It does not thrive in heavy clay soils, but grows well on heavy loams or silt loams. Shellbark hickory requires moister situations than do pignut, mockernut, or shagbark hickories (Carya glabra, C. alba, or C. ovata), although it is sometimes found on dry, sandy soils. Specific nutrient requirements are not known, but generally the hickories grow best on neutral or slightly alkaline soils.
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The Allegheny–Cumberland dry oak forest and woodlands are typically dominated by white oak (Quercus alba), southern red oak (Quercus falcata), chestnut oak (Quercus prinus), and scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea). Less frequent are red maple (Acer rubrum), pignut hickory (Carya glabra), and mockernut hickory (Carya tomentosa). Shortleaf pines (Pinus echinata) or Virginia pines (Pinus virginiana) are occasionally present, particularly near escarpments or in recently burned areas. In areas that have not recently burned, white pines (Pinus strobus) may be prominent.
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Mature upland vegetation along the Connecticut coast is mostly hardwood forest, with dominant tree species including oaks and hickories, especially white oak, black oak, pignut hickory and mockernut hickory. Other trees include sassafras, black gum, and black cherry. Mature trees tend to be sparse in coastal forests, likely because of their greater exposure to the wind. This results in more sunlight reaching the forest floor, encouraging a jungle-like tangle of vines and shrubs, including the vines catbriar, poison ivy, bramble and bittersweet, and the shrubs blueberry, huckleberry, viburnum and hazelnut.
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Dominant canopy trees include yellow buckeye, white ash, basswood, cucumber-tree magnolia, tulip poplar, red maple, Eastern hemlock, and black birch.Southern Appalachian Cove Forest (Typic Montane Type) , Discover Life in America website (accessed January 22, 2008) Typical subcanopy trees and shrubs include flowering dogwood, striped maple, sweetshrub, and rosebay rhododendron. In the third subclass, the typic foothills type, tulip poplar is the dominant species, but the canopy also may include basswood, white ash, mockernut hickory, yellow buckeye, silverbell, American beech, white oak, and red maple. Ferns are often common in the herbaceous layer.
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Dry-mesic oak forests cover large areas at lower and middle elevations on flat to gently rolling terrain. Mature stands have a variety of oak and hickory species adapted to dry-mesic conditions. Oaks include northern red oak (Quercus rubra), white oak (Quercus alba), black oak (Quercus velutina), and scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea); hickories include mockernut hickory (Carya tomentosa), shagbark hickory (Carya ovata), red hickory (Carya ovalis), and pignut hickory (Carya glabra). In addition, red maple (Acer rubrum), sweet birch (Betula lenta), and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) are common; sugar maple (Acer saccharum) is occasional.
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Black Bayou Lake is studded with cypress and tupelo trees, and surrounded by swamps that graduate into bottomland hardwoods and then into upland mixed pine/hardwoods. Cherrybark oak, cedar elm, ash, hickories and willow oak dominate the lower areas while shortleaf pine, loblolly pine, mockernut hickory and post oak dominate the upland sites. Common wildlife seen include alligators, wood ducks, bird-voiced treefrogs, broad-banded water snakes, red-eared sliders, green herons, coyotes, skunks, and white-tailed deer. The refuge supports an excellent fisheries resource and provides valuable habitat for migratory waterfowl, neotropical migratory songbirds, and many resident wildlife species.
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The Allegheny-Cumberland dry oak forest and woodland forest system is found on ridges in the southern Ridge and Valley. The forests are typically dominated by white oak (Quercus alba), southern red oak (Quercus falcata), chestnut oak (Quercus prinus), scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea), with lesser amounts of red maple (Acer rubrum), pignut hickory (Carya glabra), and mockernut hickory (Carya tomentosa). A few shortleaf pines (Pinus echinata) or Virginia pines (Pinus virginiana) may occur, particularly adjacent to escarpments or following fire. Sprouts of chestnut (Castanea dentata) can often be found where it was formerly a common tree.
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The Allegheny-Cumberland dry oak forest and woodland forest system is found on acidic soils on the Allegheny and Cumberland plateaus, and ridges in the southern Ridge and Valley. The forests are typically dominated by white oak (Quercus alba), southern red oak (Quercus falcata), chestnut oak (Quercus prinus), scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea), with lesser amounts of red maple (Acer rubrum), pignut hickory (Carya glabra), and mockernut hickory (Carya tomentosa). A few shortleaf pines (Pinus echinata) or Virginia pines (Pinus virginiana) may occur, particularly adjacent to escarpments or following fire. Sprouts of chestnut (Castanea dentata) can often be found where it was formerly a common tree.
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Black bear on Old Rag Mountain The World Wildlife Fund defines four ecoregions in Virginia: Middle Atlantic coastal forests near the Atlantic coast in the southeast corner of the state, Southeastern mixed forests on the Piedmont, Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests on the Appalachian Mountains, and Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests in the far west. According to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the oak-hickory forest is the most common forest community in Virginia. Common species include white oak, red oak, black oak, scarlet oak, chestnut oak, mockernut hickory, pignut hickory, tulip poplar, maple, beech, dogwood, black cherry, black locust, and black walnut. The oak- pine forest is the second largest type of forest with the afore mentioned oaks and the addition of loblolly pine, shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, black gum, sweetgum, hickories, sycamore, red cedar, and tulip poplar.
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