Terminal buds are about 5 mm long, plump, and are often golden in color, sprinkled with silvery peltate scales. Scales also cover the lower leaf surface, giving it a silver sheen in early spring which often changes to bronze or gold as the season progresses. Upper leaf surfaces are green, with scattered silver scales. The shiny silver of the lower leaf surface flashes against the darker green of the upper leaf surfaces when the canopies are rustled by winds, making the tree the most attractive hickory. Leaflet number is highly variable, ranging from 5 to 11.
Nuts have very thick shells and sweet kernels.
The bark of the tree is brownish gray and exfoliates in plates. The valvate bud scales and thin husk with prominent wings are typical of Section Apocarya, while the small number of leaflets and thick shell of the nut, lacking lacunae, are typical of Section Carya. The small nuts have such thick shells that, despite the sweet kernel, most nuts lie where they fall under the tree, being of little use to wildlife. Little research has been conducted on nutmeg hickory. Some interest was focused on the species as a possible dwarfing rootstock for pecan by Guidry's Nursery in St. Martinsville, Louisiana in the 1970's.