Part 15

Twigs: Slender, brown or gray, tough, smooth, usually with lenticels; leaf scars alternate, 3-lobed, not elevated, usually with several bundle traces.

Buds: More or less rounded but coming to a short point at the tip, tan or grayish, usually minutely yellow-dotted, the scales hairy all along the edges up to ⅔ inch long.

Leaves: Alternate, pinnately compound, with usually 7, sometimes 5, leaflets; leaflets lance-shaped sometimes curved, pointed at the tip, tapering or somewhat rounded at the base, finely toothed along the edges, green and smooth on the upper surface, minutely dotted and sometimes with some hairs on the lower surface, up to 6 inches long, up to 2 inches broad.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate borne separately, but on the same tree, after the leaves have begun to unfold, minute, without petals, the staminate crowded in slender, drooping catkins, the pistillate in groups of 1-2.

Fruit: Ellipsoid, rarely spherical, up to 1¼ inch long, the husk green and minutely warty, thin, splitting all the way to the base, the nut somewhat 4-angled, the seed sweet.

Wood: Heavy, hard, brown.

Uses: Tool handles, fuel.

Habitat: Wooded slopes.

Range: New Hampshire across to Wisconsin, south to Arkansas, east to Georgia.

Distinguishing Features: This Hickory cannot always be reliably distinguished from the Pignut Hickory. However, it usually has a somewhat scaly bark, seven leaflets, minutely yellow-dotted buds, and fruits which split all the way to the base.

SHAGBARK HICKORY Carya ovata (Mill.) K. Koch

Growth Form: Medium to large tree up to 80 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 3½ feet; crown rounded, with some of the branches often hanging.

Bark: Gray, separating into long, shreddy scales giving the trunk a shaggy appearance.

Twigs: Stout, reddish-brown to gray, smooth or somewhat hairy; leaf scars alternate, 3-lobed, not elevated, with several bundle traces.

Buds: Ovoid, rounded or short-pointed at the tip, up to 1 inch long, hairy, the scales conspicuously yellow-green or reddish as they unfold in the spring.

Leaves: Alternate, pinnately compound, with 5-7 leaflets; leaflets ovate, obovate, or less commonly lance-shaped, usually short-pointed at the tip, tapering to the base, up to 10 inches long, up to 5 inches wide, finely toothed along the edges, with the tip of each tooth with a minute tuft of hairs, green or yellow-green and smooth on the upper surface, paler and smooth or somewhat hairy on the lower surface.

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

Fruit: Spherical or occasionally punching-bag shaped, up to 2 inches across, the husk yellow-green to reddish-brown, up to ½ inch thick, splitting all the way to the base, the nut 4-angled, nearly white, the seed sweet.

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

Uses: Tool handles, fuel; the nuts are tasty.

Habitat: Low, shaded woods.

Range: Maine across to Minnesota, south to eastern Texas, east to Florida.

Distinguishing Features: The Shagbark Hickory is distinguished by its shaggy bark, its usually 5 large leaflets, and its large winter buds.

BLACK HICKORY Carya texana Buckl.

Other Names: Red Hickory; Texas Hickory; Buckley’s Hickory.

Growth Form: Small tree up to 25 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 1 foot; crown oblong to rounded, with numerous, small branchlets; trunk straight or somewhat crooked, slender but sturdy.

Bark: Brown to black, not scaly or peeling off into shreds, becoming somewhat furrowed and ridged at maturity.

Twigs: Slender, gray, tough, almost always smooth; leaf scars alternate, three-lobed, not elevated, usually with several bundle traces.