Flowers:
Green (Spring; monoecious catkins; not ornamentally important)
Foliage:
Green (Coarse textured green foliage in the summer); Yellow (Fall; attractive golden-yellow)
Fruit:
Brown (Sweet and edible nut encased in a thick, hard, and nearly round 1-1.5" diam. shell)
Soil:
Prefers well-drained, humusy loam soils
Diagnostic Characteristics:
Leaves are alternate, pinnately compound, 8-14" long, with five 4-6" long leaflets. Buds are brown, blunt, and imbricate with loose, pubescent scales. The bark is gray and smooth on younger trees, exfoliating intensely when it matures. The bark of Carya ovata is "shaggier" and more pronounced than that of Carya laciniosa.
