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Carya ovata, photographed by an iNaturalist contributor
(c) klalla, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) · CC BY-NC
#480 most planted

Carya ovata

Shagbark hickory · also Shellbark hickory, Upland hickory, Scalybark hickory

Deciduous
1,877
trees mapped
0.02%
of all named trees
22
cities
6.3 in
median trunk (16 cm, 1,720 measured)
4.0 yr
median age (30% have a planting date)

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Carya ovata, commonly known as shagbark hickory, is a large deciduous tree with an irregular crown and distinctive shaggy bark. Native to eastern North America, it provides valuable nuts for wildlife but produces unreliable fruit and substantial leaf litter. It makes an excellent shade tree, but its juglone production can affect other plants.

Where it grows

Trees in each city's inventory, with the share of that city's named trees this species accounts for.

  1. Longueuil · Canada
    436—6.7 in
  2. Montreal · Canada
    3013.3 yr2.0 in
  3. Kingston · Canada
    284—8.9 in
  4. Mississauga · Canada
    215—11 in
  5. Burlington, ON · Canada
    196—11 in
  6. Boston · United States
    14823 yr19 in
  7. Ottawa · Canada
    1224.0 yr2.0 in
  8. Toronto · Canada
    41—3.1 in
  9. Quebec City · Canada
    371.9 yr2.0 in
  10. New York City · United States
    23—17 in
  11. Moncton · Canada
    2010 yr3.9 in
  12. Amsterdam · Netherlands
    103.8 yr—
  13. Denver · United States
    8—3.0 in
  14. London · United Kingdom
    8—4.8 in
  15. Burlington · United States
    6—14 in
  16. Vancouver · Canada
    6—3.1 in
  17. Paris · France
    6—1.9 in
  18. Los Angeles · United States
    5——
  19. Helsinki · Finland
    2—2.0 in
  20. Lethbridge · Canada
    1—1.6 in
  21. Ajax · Canada
    1——
  22. Victoria · Canada
    1—0.8 in

Traits

Foliage
Deciduous
Mature height
50–80 ft
Canopy spread
50 ft
Growth rate
Moderate
Wildlife value
High
Blooms
Mar, Apr, May

Trunk diameters across every city: median 6.3 in, mean 8.8 in, 90th percentile 18 in. Measured at breast height, as published by each inventory.

Other Carya in the catalogue

8 of the top 2,000 species are in this genus.

Interested in talking trees? arborary.world@gmail.comTree data © the respective municipal publishers and © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).