In Iowa, it is found in flood plains along the Mississippi River and its tributaries north to Jackson and Iowa counties and west to west central Iowa. It is less common today because of extensive clearing of bottomlands for crop production in Iowa. The lower pair of leaflets are usually about one-third as large as the other leaflets. The margins of the leaflets are toothed with small tiny teeth, upper surfaces are dark green, lower surfaces are lighter in color, and covered with fine, soft hairs.
Branches are stout, with the lowermost drooping and others spreading.
Buds are angular and hairy when young, and orange-brown in color becoming rounded and smooth with age. The leaf scars are 3-lobed and very conspicuous. Side buds are about one-fourth the size of terminal buds. The shell is thick and hard and the kernel is sweet and edible. The bark is moderately thick, light gray, forming long, thick plates with the ends curving away from the trunk, very similar to shagbark hickory.