The undersides of the compound leaves of pignut hickory are mostly smooth (glabrous), only occasionally hairy -- hence its Latin name (glabra). The wood of hickory is famously heavy and tough yet flexible and shock-resistant. Pignut hickory is characterized by a narrow oblong crown and somewhat pendulous branches [ 54 ]. Other common names are pignut, sweet pignut, coast pignut hickory, smoothbark hickory, swamp hickory, … ; It is identified by its smooth bark, leaves with mostly 7 leaflets, drupes with thin exocarp (2–3 mm thick) and exocarp sutures with very narrow wings, and terminal winter buds with weakly imbricate, yellow-brown to light red-brown scales. in part by the National Science Foundation. Big and bold, Pignut Hickory has proven itself across a huge native range, encompassing most of the eastern US. WARNING: Some websites to which these materials provide links for the convenience of users are not managed by the University of Kentucky. 1×2. Tree with catkins and galls made by Phylloxera sp. Shagbark hickory is probably the most distinctive of all the hickories because of its loose-plated bark. Interpreting Wetland Status. Juglandaceae (walnuts) Description : Pignut hickory is a medium-sized tree with a rather narrow crown, 2–4 times longer than broad. 2020 → Common names include shellbark hickory, scalybark hickory, shagbark, and upland hickory. a sighting. As they age, the color changes to dark gray, and the tree develops scaly ridges. Shagbark is evenly distributed throughout the Eastern States and, together with pignut hickory, furnishes the bulk of the commercial hickory. Mainly dry-mesic, sometimes thin, soils of forests, woodlands, and ridges. Pignut Hickory is a medium to a large deciduous tree that is native to eastern and central USA and parts of Canada. Shellbark Hickory: The shellbark hickory (Carya laciniosa) is found … Shellbark hickory is a large tree with shaggy bark and good yellow fall color. Your help is appreciated. It grows throughout the eastern and central U. S., with concentrations … those considered historical (not seen in 20 years). County documented: documented Sweet symbol: CAGL8 Leaf: Alternate, pinnately compound, 8 to 12 inches long, with 5 (sometimes 7) leaflets, leaflets are lanceolate and serrate, rachis slender and glabrous, green above and paler below. Pignut Hickory (#11) Common in the eastern United States and native to Georgia, this tree is considered a “soil improver” because the leaves have a relatively high calcium content. These trees are found in the eastern half of the U.S. and they produce pear shaped nuts with a thin husk that are bitter to the taste. donations to help keep this site free and up to date for We depend on The fruit of the pignut hickory can be eaten, but it is astringent and quite bitter. unintentionally); has become naturalized. Twigs are slender and a dark purple to a light green. Carya glabra in 20 years). Show image, please click it to see who you will need to contact. × Other common names are pignut, sweet pignut, coast pignut hickory, smoothbark hickory, swamp hickory, and broom hickory. Shagbark hickory is probably the most distinctive of all the hickories because of its loose-plated bark. Mature trees have grey bark which is made up of tight intersecting ridges with flat tops. Sarg. The wood is used for a variety of products, including fuel for home heating. Go Botany: Native Plant Trust An Equal Opportunity University. Occasionally, the ridges may separate from the trunk in peeling strips, loose at both ends, a trait characteristic of Shagbark and Shellbark Hickories. Note that he also wrote these two species 
could only be separated by examination of mature fruits. Flower: Species is monoecious; males are yellow-green, drooping … In Ohio it is found in the southernmost and eastern counties. Trees tend to fruit simultaneously in mast years, yielding high volumes of nuts. Can you please help us? The nuts and bark provide food to many kinds of wildlife. Non-native: introduced A 105-foot national champion pignut hickory is in Georgia. Send mail to cgcass0@uky.edu with questions about this site. CT, MA, NH, Pignuts are round and about an inch wide and resemble a pig’s nose. It is identified by its smooth bark, leaves with mostly 7 leaflets, drupes with thin exocarp (2–3 mm thick) and exocarp sutures with very narrow wings, and terminal winter 
buds with weakly imbricate, yellow-brown to light red-brown scales. Shagbark hickory tree has a light gray bark that peels as thick vertical … to exist in the county by N. pignut hickory. Pignut hickory's nutritious nuts attract wildlife. In winter its open habit and bark are of interest. The leaves of this hickory tree are generally between 8 and 12 inches long, usually with 5 leaflets to a stem. Carya ovalis. pignut hickory Juglandaceae Carya glabra (Mill.) Images are provided in galleries and are available by common name, scientific name, family, ecosystem, and wetland indicator status. The Pignut Hickory occurs throughout most of the eastern United States and westward to eastern Texas. Even the bark of this tree develops shallow furrows and ridges with age. This species is native to the Chicago region according to Swink and Wilhelm's Plants of the Chicago Region, with updates made according to current research. Trees are robust and foliage is dark green, bold and handsome. Louisiana Plant ID is an online resource for images and descrptions of Louisiana plants and ecosystems. Faunal Associations: Sweet Pignut Hickory and other hickory trees (Carya spp.) Flakey; The wood is used for fuel, and a variety of … Pignut Hickory: The pignut (Carya glabra) is a tall hickory tree with an irregular crown and tightly furrowed bark. Found this plant? Human connections: The strong, hard wood is brittle and commonly used for fuel. N-318 Ag Sciences Center University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 40546-0091, Fax (Lexington): 859-257-2859       (Princeton): 270-365-2667, For questions about home gardening, landscaping or commercial horticulture production, please contact your county extension agent. Palmer is a very rare hickory hybrid known from FACU). It ranges from Ontario to central Florida and from the east coast to the Mississippi River from southern Michigan to Mississippi. Pignut hickory is stronger than steel, yet more elastic, less brittle and less conductive of heat. Note: when native and non-native Pignut Hickory Carya glabra. evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers Shagbark hickory is evenly distributed throughout the Eastern States and, together with pignut hickory, furnishes the bulk of the commercial hickory. All rights reserved. Alternate, with teeth, feather-compound (also called pinnately compound); 15-25cm (6-10”) in length; For undergraduate student information regarding the Sustainable Agriculture program, contact Dr. Krista Jacobsen at (859) 257-3921, or krista.jacobsen@uky.edu. The nuts are rather small and astringent or bitter - hence, they are left for a long time by the wildlife. Pignut hickory is monoecious [ 51 ]. Also covers those considered historical (not seen This majestic tree can reach heights of 100 feet (30 meters) or more. Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but occasionally in wetlands. The bark is relatively thin, grayish, and divided into interlacing ridges. Trunk bark is gray to gray-brown and somewhat rough, consisting of elongated ridges with flattened tops and shallow furrows. Here in central New England (and in much of the estern US), the most common hickories are the shagbark (Carya … Bitternut hickory bark is thin, tight, and hard with a gray color; that changes to silvery shades, as the tree ages. Pignut Hickory (Carya glabra glabra) Description: This tree is 60-80' tall, consisting of a long straight trunk, ascending to spreading branches, and an oblongoid crown. to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within Pignut hickory was first cultivated in the U.S. in 1750. Plants generally possess a pronounced taproot but few laterals [ 51 ]. – hybrid hickory Species: Carya glabra (Mill.) State documented: documented Pignut Hickory is a species that is native to Michigan. The wood is valued for its strength. RI, (Wetland indicator code: Leaves are alternate, feather-compound, 8–12 inches long, with 5 (rarely 7) leaflets. This characteristic made hickory the wood of choice for wagon wheels and sulkies for harness horses. All Characteristics, the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe, the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe, the bark of an adult plant is ridged or plated, the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth, the bark of an adult plant peels off easily or hangs off, the winter bud scales have no hairs on them, the winter buds are globose (spherical, globe-shaped), the flower includes only one cycle of petals or sepals, the fruit is a drupe (fleshy, with a firm inner ovary wall that encloses a single seed), the fruit is a nut (dry and indehiscent, with a hard wall, usually containing only one seed and usually subtended by an involucre), the underside of the leaf has hairs on it, the base of the leaf blade is attenuate (tapering very gradually to a prolonged tip), the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow, the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends), the leaf blade is oblanceolate (lance-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade), the leaf blade is oblong (rectangular but with rounded ends), the leaf blade is obovate (egg-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade), the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends), the leaf blade is coriaceous (has a firm, leathery texture), the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture), the leaf blade margin has teeth, which themselves have smaller teeth on them, the leaf blade margin is serrulate (with forward-pointing) or denticulate (with outward-pointing) with tiny teeth, the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor. var. It was used to make automobile parts in the early days of that industry. The end leaf is the largest, and all greenery turns a golden brown color in the fall. Though Manning (1950) maintained these two as separate species, 
he stated that trees with fruits intermediate between hirsuta Ashe Pignuts and shagbark hickory nuts, garnished with Washington hawthorn Most hickory nuts in the US are edible, the most popular one being the pecan, which has a limited range in the south. The … C. glabra and C. ovalis are almost 
as frequent as trees with characteristic fruits. H. glabra (P. Mill.) The pear-shaped nut ripens in September and October and is an important part of the diet of many wild animals. Britt. It is found in all areas of NC. Sweet var. For details, please check with your state. the state. Pignut hickory or Carya glabra grows on ridges and produces thin-husked light brown fruit. Pignut hickory grows best in sun or partial shade on well-drained, acid soils and is very drought-tolerant. All images and text © Leaves are alternate, pinnately compound, and 20-30 cm long. It thrives from mountain slopes to creek bottoms and most everything in between. ... Bark. This site was last updated on November 30, 2020. C. ovalis (Wangenh.) The pignut hickory tree has gray scaly bark that doesn’t peel from the trunk. var. Carya cordiformis iPIX Interactive ecosystem images in 360 degrees with links to individual plant … Copyright 2020, University of Kentucky, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. This tree can be very difficult to distinguish from Carya glabra (Pignut Hickory) & at one time was considered the same. populations both exist in a county, only native status VT into northern counties. It is a medium sized tree reaching heights of 15-22 m (50-70 ft) and with trunks 30-75 cm (12-30 in) in diameter. For general undergraduate student information, contact Dr. Rick Durham at (859) 257-3249, or rdurham@uky.edu. Hickory wood is versatile and is used for chair legs, tool handles (including … The gray bark is shallowly ridged and furrowed [ 10, 17 ]. It has a deep taproot, so it is difficult to transplant. 2.  Site design : Academic Web Pages. Because of these qualities, it is often used in sporting goods, such as skis, and for tool handles. hirsuta (Ashe) Ashe; This plant has no children Legal Status. (P. Mill.) As with other hickories the wood of this tree is tough and strong. (intentionally or megacarpa (Sarg.) It prefers full sun in well-drained soil with a sandy substrate. Also called the black hickory or smoothbark hickory, pignut hickory tree grows to between 50 and 80 ft. (15 – 24 m) high. Hickory wood also has low conductivity of heat. In young pignut hickory trees, the bark is found to be smooth with a light gray color. state. The hickory is particularly beautiful when winter buds open in late spring; the bud scales fold back, petal-like, as new foliage emerges. Description. Carya As with most hickories, it is a strong, tall tree with a straight trunk and dense oval to rounded form. Sweet var. The university does not review, control or take responsibility for the contents of those sites. Copyright: various copyright holders. Hicoria 
glabra (P. Mill.) Pignut hickory tree has a straight trunk and massive rounded crown. See this plant in the following landscape: Cultivars / Varieties: Tags: C. glabra (P. Mill.) This species 
is polymorphic in New England and consists of two intergrading morphologies. NH, but extending north along western For graduate student information, contact Dr. Doug Archbold at 859-257-3352, or darchbol@uky.edu, Pignut Hickory - Carya glabraWalnut Family (Juglandaceae), Pignut hickory fruit has a small kernel with variable flavor, usually bitter and is fit to be eaten only by "pigs and other animals.".