56 Native Trees of Canada 



When young the butternut much resembles the black walnut, but they can 

 readily be separated upon comparing their twigs and winter buds. In older trees 

 the bark and fruit are sufficient to distinguish them. 



The bark of the butternut is light grey with broad, smooth-topped ridges, 

 which at a distance appear like whitish, interlacing, vertical stripes. The bark of 

 the black walnut is much rougher and darker. 



The leaves are compound, i.e. composed of many leaflets attached to a common 

 stalk. This stalk is 10 to 25 in. long. The leaflets number from nine to seventeen 

 and are an oblong oval in shape, saw-toothed, and pointed. 



The twigs are downy and clammy and the pith, like that of the black walnut, 

 is chambered. The winter buds are light brown, longer than broad, and downy. 



The nut is oblong, pointed at one end, and 2 to 3 in. long. The shell is deeply 

 furrowed, leaving many fine, hard, sharp, irregular ridges. The husk, or outer 

 covering, is brown, very sticky, and will stain the hands if much handled. The 

 kernel is edible. 



The wood of the butternut is soft and weak, and is lighter in weight and colour 

 than that of the black walnut, otherwise the two woods are similar in grain and 

 texture. 



In Canada it is used for boat-building and interior finish. As the occurrence 

 of the tree is comparatively rare its wood is not common on the market. 



THE HICKORIES 



Twelve species of hickory (Carya) are recognized and all of them are confined 

 to this continent. Six occur in Canada, xione west of Ontario. 



They are related to the walnuts and, like them, have compound leaves and 

 produce hard-shelled nuts which are surrounded by an outer shell or husk, but there 

 are many points in which they differ sufficiently to be readily distinguished. The 

 different species of hickory, however, are rather difficult to separate because of 

 intermediate forms being sometimes developed by natural hybridization. 



The wood of the different species is so similar in its technical qualities that it 

 is usually sold simply as "hickory." The lumber of the different species is seldom 

 separated on the market. The wood is among the hardest, toughest, and strongest 

 of the timbers of commerce, few woods surpassing it in any of these qualities. 

 It is used in Canada chiefly for vehicle stock, tool-handles, agricultural implements, 

 machinery parts, and sporting goods. 



CARYA CORDIFORMIS (Wang.) Koch BITTERNUT HICKORY 



Common names: Bitternut hickory, swamp hickory. 

 French names: Carya amer, noyer dur. 



The bitternut hickory is a tree 50 to 60 ft. high and 1 to 13^ ft. in diameter. 

 The crown in the open is large and spreading. 



The bark is a light granite grey, close-fitting, and roughened by shallow fissures 

 and narrow ridges. 



The twigs are slender as compared with the shagbark or mockernut hickories 

 but not quite as delicate as those of the pignut. Recent shoots are an orange- 

 green colour and dotted. 



