240 BIRCH FAMILY 



globose or depressed, 4-6 cm. long, nut white, slightly flattened and 

 angled, mucronate-tipped, 4-celled at the base, shell hard : o v a t a, ovate. 



In rich woods, common in Houston County, extends north as far as 

 Weaver and Kellogg in Wabasha County, near Chatfield in Olmstead 

 County, and occurs infrequently as far west as Moscow and Freeborn 

 County. Distributed from New England and western Quebec to Minn., 

 Tex. and Fla. 



The hickory nut of commerce is obtained mainly from this tree. The 

 wood is light brown in color, heavy, very hard and strong, close-grained 

 and flexible. It is used very extensively in the manufacture of carriages, 

 wagons and agricultural machinery, also for axe-handles, baskets, etc. It 

 is the heaviest and strongest of our native woods, weighing 52 lbs. Blos- 

 soms in May, fruit ripe in September and October. 



Carya cordiformis (Wangenheim) K. Koch 1876 Bitter-nut 



Swamp Hickory 

 Hicoria minima (Marshall) B r i 1 1 o n 1888 



A rather slender tree, 12-25 m. (36-75 feet) high, bark of trunk 

 smooth or rough, but not peeling off in such large loose plates as in the 

 preceding species, leaves 12-25 cm. long, with slender, pubescent petioles, 

 leaflets 5-9 lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, narrowed or slightly rounded 

 at the base, sessile, acuminate at the apex, sharply serrate, puberulent 

 when young, becoming glabrous in age, the three upper leaflets 9-12 cm. 

 long, 2.5-4 cm. wide; staminate catkins in 3's, slender, 8-12 cm. long; 

 fruit subglobose, narrowly 6-ridged, 2.5-4 cm. long, husk thin, irregularly 

 4-valved; nuts slightly compressed, short pointed with persistent stigmas, 

 1.5-2.5 cm. long, thin-shelled, seed very bitter: cordiformis, heart- 

 shaped, not very appropriate. 



In rich woods, common southward and extending through the Big 

 Woods north to Mille Lacs, infrequently to the upper Mississippi and to 

 the tributaries of the St. Louis river. Distributed from New England and 

 western Quebec, to Lake Huron, Minn, and eastern Neb., south to Va. and 

 Texas. 



The wood is light brown, close-grained, very hard, heavy, strong and 

 tough, weighing 47 lbs. It is largely used for hoop poles for flour bar- 

 rels, ox yokes, fuel, etc. Blossoms in May, fruit ripe in Sept. and Oct. 



Betulaceae Birch Family 



Trees or shrubs with sweet, watery sap; leaves alternate, petioled, 

 simple and pinnately veined, stipules deciduous; staminate flowers in pen- 



