Part 14

Twigs: Rather stout, brown, hairy when young, but becoming smooth; leaf scars alternate, 3-lobed, scarcely elevated, with 3-18 bundle traces.

Buds: Long-pointed, covered with yellow glandular dots and fine hairs, up to one-half inch long.

Leaves: Alternate, pinnately compound, with 9-19 leaflets; leaflets lance-shaped, curved, long-pointed at the tip, rounded or tapering to the asymmetrical base, finely doubly-toothed, yellow-green and usually smooth on the upper surface, paler and either smooth or hairy on the lower surface, up to 8 inches long and 3 inches broad.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate borne separately, but on the same tree, appearing when the leaves are partly grown, the staminate many in slender, drooping, yellow-green catkins, the pistillate fewer in shorter spikes, neither type with petals.

Fruit: Ellipsoid, pointed at the tip, up to 2 inches long and 1 inch broad, the husk narrowly 4-winged, dark brown but with yellow scales, thin, usually splitting nearly to the base, the nut pointed at the tip, reddish-brown with black markings, the shell thin, the seed sweet.

Wood: Hard, heavy, coarse-grained, light reddish-brown.

Uses: The nuts are prized for their tastiness; the wood is used for interior finishing, furniture, fuel, and tool handles.

Habitat: Moist woods, particularly along rivers.

Range: Indiana to Iowa, south through southeastern Kansas to eastern Texas, east to Alabama; Mexico.

Distinguishing Features: The Pecan differs from all other hickories by its greater number of leaflets. The Black Walnut and Butternut, which may have as many leaflets, have a partitioned pith. In every case, the fruit of the Pecan is distinctive.

KINGNUT HICKORY Carya laciniosa (Michx. f.) Loud.

Other Names: Big Shellbark Hickory; Riverbank Hickory.

Growth Form: Large tree up to 100 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 3 feet; crown oblong to ovoid, with drooping lower branches; trunk straight, columnar, stout.

Bark: Light gray, soon separating into long, thick, vertical plates which curve away from the trunk.

Twigs: Stout, gray or brown, conspicuously dotted with orange lenticels; leaf scars alternate, shield-shaped or 3-lobed, not elevated, usually with several bundle traces.

Buds: Elongated, dark brown, hairy, up to ¾ inch long, the outer scales with a long, stiff point.

Leaves: Alternate, pinnately compound, with 5-9 leaflets; leaflets lance-shaped to ovate, pointed at the tip, tapering or rounded at the base, finely toothed along the edges, dark green and mostly smooth on the upper surface, paler and softly hairy on the lower surface, up to 10 inches long and up to half as wide.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate borne separately, but on the same tree, appearing after the leaves have begun to unfold, minute, without petals, the staminate in slender, drooping catkins, the pistillate in clusters of 2-5.

Fruit: Spherical, often depressed at the top, up to 2¼ inches across, the husk divided all the way to the base into four sections, minutely orange-speckled and sometimes hairy, the nut with conspicuous ridges, the seed very sweet.

Wood: Heavy, hard, close-grained, dark brown.

Uses: Wood is used for tool handles and fuel; nuts are sold commercially because of their edible qualities.

Habitat: Rich bottomlands.

Range: Southwestern Pennsylvania and southern Michigan across to central Illinois and southern Iowa, south to northeastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, and eastern Tennessee; also in scattered areas of New York, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.

Distinguishing Features: The shaggy bark and large leaflets resemble those of the Shagbark Hickory, but the Kingnut Hickory has orange-dotted twigs and usually seven leaflets which lack minute tufts of hairs at the tip of each tooth.

SWEET PIGNUT HICKORY Carya ovalis (Wang.) Sarg.

Other Names: False Shagbark Hickory; Small-fruited Hickory.

Growth Form: Medium to large tree up to 80 feet tall; trunk up to 2 feet in diameter; crown oblong or broadly rounded, with upright, spreading upper branches and drooping lower branches; trunk straight, columnar.

Bark: Gray, tight and rather smooth when young, usually peeling off into narrow plates at maturity.