60-80' × 40-60'. Tall with a distinctly narrow crown resembles shagbark hickory but with somewhat less shaggy bark though it also exfoliates in strips when mature. Fruit husks are a bit thicker and shells are larger than its cousin’s but still valued by humans and wildlife.
This seedling is a selection made by Fayette Etter from Conococheague Creek in southern PA. It offers consistent yields of large nuts and is considered the best shellbark selection for northern plantings.
A tree of bottomlands and floodplains, it prefers rich damp soils and tolerates seasonal flooding. Dark green odd-pinnate compound leaves with 4–8" leaflets are yellow or brown in fall.
Give it lots of space to grow! Self-pollinating but planting multiples benefits crop yields. Native from NY south and west to the Mississippi River plains. Zone 5.