山核桃 shan he tao

Hicoria cathayensis (Sargent) Chun.

Trees to 20 m tall. Terminal buds naked, rusty brown. Leaves 16-30 cm; petiole 4-9 cm, glabrous; rachis pubescent; leaflets 5 or 7, lateral ones sessile or with petiolule ca. 1 mm, blade lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, 10-18 × 2-5 cm, with abundant, peltate scales, abaxially glabrous except for hairs along midvein and in axils of secondary veins, base cuneate or subrounded, apex acuminate; terminal petiolule 4-10 mm. Male spikes 10-15 cm; peduncle 1-2 cm. Anthers puberulent. Nuts ellipsoid, 2-3 × 1.5-2.3 cm; husk winged to base; shell with 4 faint, longitudinal ridges, 1-2 mm thick, 4-chambered at base, lacunae absent. Fl. Apr-Jun, fr. Aug-Sep.

* Forests on mountain slopes, valleys, riverbanks; 400-1500 m. Anhui, S Guizhou, Jiangxi, Zhejiang

Commonly cultivated for its oily, edible nuts.