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| Our tree of the week is a volunteer mockernut hickory (Carya tomentosa). All photos below were snapped on June 7th, 2020. |
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| This mockernut grows in full sun on a grassy slope north of Cline Hall. An exact age isn't found in the catalogue; however, we know that it has been in this spot since at least 2008. We also know that it germinated on the grounds of the arboretum and was subsequently dug up and transplanted to this location. Its parent was an on-site native tree that has since departed. |
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| Getting up close, we see fuzzy twigs and petioles, which help us identify the mockernut. |
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| If the month of June brings you into close contact with a mockernut, you might spy large, rounded fruits. |
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| Fruits appear at twig apices, hidden by the compound leaves. |
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| A small branch was snipped for inspection. |
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| These fruits are immature, but already quite large. Mockernut fruits ripen in the fall. |
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| Twigs are unmistakably fuzzy! Also, note the lines across the rounded fruits. |
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| Mockernut leaves are long. From the branch we snipped, the largest leaf measured more than a foot in length. |
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| Here we have seven yellow-green leaflets. Note the pointed tips and size variation in leaflets. |
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| Underneath, leaflets are pale and fuzzy. |
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| Zooming in on the leaflets we see a fine serration. Other individual mockernuts might have coarsely serrated leaflet margins. |
You can see pictures of fresh new leaves here.
For more information about this species consult the following online sources:
United States Department of Agriculture
Fire Effects Information System (US Forest Service)
