Shagbark Hickory is a large native slow-growing but long-lived deciduous tree growing 70 to 100+ feet tall and over 2-1/2 feet wide, with a straight trunk and a narrow oblong crown with ascending branches.

The bark is distinctive, at first smooth and gray then becoming dark gray and deeply furrowed into long wide plates, that remain attached in the middle but curve away from the trunk at each end - resulting in the shaggy appearance the tree is named for.

Twigs are brownish and stout with numerous lighter colored lenticels and with the 3-lobed leaf scar the Walnut family usually has, which is said to resemble a monkey face. Buds are brown and the terminal bud is very large and hairy with 8 to 10 small brown scales but the inner scales become quite large and colorful as the bud breaks and the leaves are forming.

Leaves are alternate, pinnately compound, 8 to 14 inches long, with with 5 (and rarely 3 OR 7) elliptical or ovate leaflets. Each leaflet is stalkless with a fine saw-tooth hairy margin and a pointed tip. The terminal leaflet will be larger than the laterals and leaves of young plants will be much larger than on older plants. The upper surface is yellow-green to green, no hair, while the underside is more pale with fine hair when young, weathering to just tufts in late summer. Fall color is golden-brown.

Flowers: The tree is monoecious, that is with separate male and female flowers. Male flowers are yellow-green in slender drooping catkins, 3 to 4 inches long, 3 from one stalk from the base of this years twig. The tiny flowers have a 3-lobe calyx and several stamens. Flower stalks and bracts are without hairs, but the anthers have fine hair. Female flowers are about 1/8 inch long, appearing on a short terminal spike at the tips of the same twig. They have a 4-ridged ovary and a pair of styles. Flowers cross pollinate by wind.

Seed: Fertile female flowers produce a 1-1/4 to 2-1/4 inch nearly round nut, flattened at the tip, covered by a very thick husk that matures to a dark-brown to blackish color. They appear singly or in groups of 2 or 3. The husk splits along the 4 ridges of the original ovary. Fruit matures in the Autumn and drops from the tree the same year. The nut inside is lightly flattened, angled, whitish to light brown, sweet and edible. Seeds are dispersed by animals. Trees must be around 40 years of age to produce a good crop. Cold stratification is needed for seed germination.

Habitat: The root system has a deep taproot and can sprout vigorously from stumps. It is generally found on upland slopes with moist well-drained soil. It is moderately shade tolerant. As it does not spread via the root system, there are no large stands of the tree.

Names: The genus name Carya is an old name for walnut in which family this tree resides. The species name, ovata, means egg shaped and refers to the husk of the nut. The author names for the plant classification are as followes: - "Mill." is for Philip Miller, Scottish botanist (1691-1771) who was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden and wrote The Gardener's Dictionary. His work on this species was amended by ‘K. Koch’ - Karl Heinrich Emil Koch (1809-1879), German botanist, Professor of Botany, first professional horticultural officer in Germany, and a plant collector in and near Asia Minor.

In the 18th century Shagbark Hickory was named in Miller's Dictionary Juglans ovata. In 1869 Koch published the current name Carya ovata.

Comparisons: The nearest comparison is the Bitternut Hickory, C. cordiformis, which has seeds with much thinner husks and smoother bark that does not shed.