Carya cathayensis seed
LATIN NAME: Carya cathayensis
COMMON NAME: Chinese Hickory
The Chinese hickory is the tall, fine nut tree of the eastern mountains. The upright, deciduous tree carries the large, pinnate leaves with the toothed leaflets, and the small, greenish flowers open through the spring, to be followed in the autumn by the small, round nuts with the hard, thick shells and the sweet, oily kernels. The tree is one of the fine nut trees of the warm temperate east, and it is a handsome, long-lived addition to the large garden and the nut orchard. It is a tree of the deep, rich, well-drained ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The Chinese hickory has carved a quiet but solid place in the plant science, and the tree has been studied for the small, round nuts and the sweet, oily kernels within. Researchers have looked at the way the tree holds a fine place among the nut trees of the warm temperate east, and it keeps showing up in the work on the hickories, the nut crops and the fine timber trees. The large, pinnate leaves and the upright habit have also made it a handsome garden tree, and the tree is a regular subject of the studies of the walnut family and the nuts of the eastern mountains.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The Chinese hickory does a lot of work in the garden and the wider world. The small, round nuts with the sweet, oily kernels are a fine, dependable crop of the autumn, gathered for the table and the baking, and the tree is also a fine, solid timber tree of its native mountains. The large, pinnate leaves give the tall tree a fine, bold presence, and the autumn nuts feed the squirrels and the jays as well as the household. It has drawn attention in the international agricultural and the horticultural press for the sweet kernels and the fine timber, and it is a fine, long-lived tree of the deep, rich, well-drained garden.
The Chinese hickory is one of the fine nut trees of the eastern mountains, and the small, round nuts with the hard, thick shells hold the sweet, oily kernels that the autumn gathers. The large, pinnate leaves give the tall tree a fine, bold presence, and the nuts feed the squirrels, the jays and the household alike.
To grow the Chinese hickory from seed, soak the fresh nuts in warm water overnight, then sow them at a depth of about two centimetres in pots of moist, free-draining soil, covering them thinly, keep them in a bright, open spot and water gently. The seedlings come up within a few weeks and grow on steadily. Give them the sun and the deep, rich, well-drained ground, and the pinnate leaves and the sweet, round nuts will come in a few seasons.