General Landscape Uses:
Specimen tree.
Availability:
Available at native plant nurseries in northeast Florida.
Description: Large deciduous tree 125 feet tall with compound leaves 8-25 inches long with hairy leaflets 2-3 inches long.
Dimensions: Typically 120 feet in height. Taller than broad.
Growth Rate: Fast.
Range:
Central and eastern United States south to the Florida Panhandle. For a digitized image of Elbert Little's Florida range map, visit the
Exploring Florida website.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Floodplain forests and calcareous hammocks.
Soils: Moist to rarely innundated, well-drained to moderately well-drained limestone or sandy soils, with humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements: Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.
Salt Water Tolerance: Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance: Low; salt wind may burn the leaves.
Drought Tolerance: Moderate; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established.
Light Requirements: Light shade to full sun.
Flower Color: Greenish.
Flower Characteristics: Inconspicuous flowers on conspicuous catkins 2-4 inches long.
Flowering Season: Late spring.
Fruit: Large edible oval nuts with rough coats, surrounded by a staining shell.
Wildlife and Ecology: Provides food and cover for animals.
Horticultural Notes: Tennis-ball sized fruits stain pavement. Exudes juglone, a chemical which leeches in the soil and retards the growth of some plants.
References: Mellichamp (
2014), Wunderlin and Hansen 2011
Comments: We have been adding data for this species for central and northern Florida and welcome any feedback or review. If you would like to contribute information or images, please contact George Gann via the IRC staff page.
