Carya Hickory

a genus of deciduous trees of the family Junglandaceae. Height, up to 60–65 m. The leaves are alternate and odd-pinnate. The flowers are unisexual. The staminate flowers are in pendulous catkins, and the pistillate flowers are in two-to ten-flowered spikelets. The fruit is a false drupe, which splits at ripening into four woody valves. There are approximately 20 species, distributed in the southeastern United States and in China. In the USSR, five species have been cultivated, including the pecan (Carya pecan) and the shagbark (C. alba); these species should be cultivated in rows. The nuts of some species are used for food. They contain up to 60–70 percent oil, which is used in confectioneries.