Tree Study 755 



THE SHAGBARK HICKORY 



Teacher's Story 



OW pathetically the untidy bark of this dignified 

 tree suggests the careless raiment of a great man! 

 The shagbark is so busy being something worth 

 while that it does not seem to have time or energy 

 to clothe itself in tailor-made bark, like the beech, 

 the white ash and the basswood. And just as we 

 _ like a great man more because of his negligence to 

 _ fashion's demands, so do we esteem this noble tree, 

 ~- and involuntarily pay it admiring tribute as we 

 note its trunk with the bark scaling off in long, 



thin plates that curve outward at the top and bot- 

 tom and seem to be only slightly attached at the middle. 



In general shape, the shagbark resembles the oak; the lower branches 

 are large and, although rising as they leave the bole, their tips are deflected; 

 and, for their whole length, they are gnarled and knotted as if to show their 

 strength. The bark on the larger branches may be scaly toward their bases 

 but above is remarkably smooth. The spray is angular and extends in 

 almost every direction. The leaves, like those of other hickories, are com- 

 pound. There are generally five leaflets, but sometimes only three and 

 sometimes seven. The basal pair is smaller than the others. The hickory 

 leaves are borne alternately on the twig, and from this character the hickory 

 may be distinguished from the ashes, which have leaves of similar type, but 

 which are placed opposite on the twigs. The shagbark usually has an un- 

 symmetrical oblong head ; the lower branches are usually shorter than the 

 upper ones, and the latter are irregularly placed, causing gaps in the foliage. 



The nut is large, with a thick, smooth, outer husk channeled at the seams 

 and separating readily into sections ; the inner shell is sharply angled and 

 pointed and slightly flattened at the sides; the kernel is sweet. The winter 

 buds of the shagbark are large, light brown, egg-shaped and downy; they 

 swell greatly before they expand . There are from eight to ten bud-scales ; 

 the inner ones, which are red, increase to two or three inches in length 

 before the leaves unfold, after which they fall away. The young branches 

 are smooth, soft, delicate in color, and with conspicuous leaf scars. 



The hickory bears its staminate and pistillate flowers on the same tree. 

 The pollen-bearing flowers grow at the base of the season's shoots in slender, 

 pendulous, green catkins, which occur usually in clusters of three swinging 

 from a common stem.. The pistillate flo\vers grow at the tips of the season's 

 shoots singly or perhaps two or three on a common stem. In the shagbark 

 the middle lobe of the staminate calyx is nearly twice as long as the other 

 two, and is tipped with long bristles ; it usually has four stamens with yellow 

 anthers; its pistillate calyx is four-toothed and hairy, and has two large, 

 fringed stigmas. 



The big shagbark, or king nut, is similar to the shagbark in height, 

 manner of gro\vth, and bark. However, its leaves have from seven to nine 

 leaflets, \vhich are more oblong and wedgelike than are those of the shag- 

 bark; they are also more downy when young and remain slightly downy 

 beneath. The nut is very large, thick-shelled, oblong, angled, and pointed 

 at both ends. The kernel is large and sweet but inferior in flavor to the 

 smaller shagbark. The big shagbark has larger buds than has the other. 



