SHAGBARK HICKORY; LITTLE SHELLBARK HICKORY (Hic- 

 oria ovata, Britt.). 75 to 120 feet. Ruggedly gnarled, ob- 

 iong head of short branches, on short, straight trunk, with 

 pale bark that sheds in thin, vertical strips, giving a shaggy ap- 

 pearance. Wood tough, springy, hard, fit for axe handles, 

 wheels, sled runners, splint chairs, farm implements and ve- 

 hicles. Best fuel. Buds large at tips of twigs, with two nar- 

 row, black scales outside of pale, silky inner ones, that lengthen 

 greatly when the shoots start in spring. Leaves alternate, 

 12 to 20 inches long, of five leathery, pointed leaflets, basal 

 pair small, on wiry petiole. Autumn color, brownish yellow. 

 Flowers with new leaves, May; stamina te catkins profuse, 4 

 to 6 inches long, 3 on each stalk; pistillate solitary or few, ter- 

 minal, green, with forked stigmas. Fruit, a nut in smooth, 

 leathery husk that splits when ripe, liberating the flattened, 

 4-angled nut. Kernel sweet. Dist.: Maine westward to 

 Minnesota and Nebraska; south to Delaware, and along the 

 mountains to Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. Preferred 

 habitat, rich, deep, moist soil. Ornamental and shade tree of 

 high rank. Best native nut tree. 



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