WHITE HICKORY. 87 



Seed is borne frequently and in large quantities, but seedlings 

 are not common except in the Piedmont plateau, and young trees 

 are infrequent in second-growth woods. 



The leaves are large and composed of 5 to 7-pointed, rather 

 coarsely toothed leaflets, the lower pair small and narrow, the 

 upper pair and terminal leaflet very large, broad and inversely 

 egg-shaped. The barren flowers are in slender, pendulous, green 

 tassels, three on a common stalk. The minute fertile flowers are 

 in groups of 2 to 4 together on the ends of the shoots. The thick 

 husk of the nearly globular fruit separates into four distinct pieces, 

 and the nut is white, sweet, edible, and 4-angled. The large, 

 yellowish-brown, scaly buds are egg-shaped. 



The shag-bark hickory has numerous lateral roots and a strong 

 taproot which is developed in early youth. 



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

 compact, and flexible; light brown in color; the thin and more 

 valuable sapwood nearly white. It is largely used for agricultural 

 implements, carriages, axe and tool handles, baskets and fuel. 



Hicoria alba, Britton.* 

 (WHITE HICKORY. BIG-BUD HICKORY. MOCKERNUT.) 



A tree, with dark ashen-gray, deeply furrowed bark, reaching 

 a height of 108 and a diameter of 4 feet. 



It occurs from southern Ontario to the eastern parts of Nebraska,. 

 Kansas, and Indian Territory, southward to central Florida and 

 the valley of the Brazos river, Texas. It grows on rich hillsides 

 or in low river bottoms, and is very common in the Gulf states 

 and throughout the South. 



In North Carolina, where it grows to an average height of 60 

 feet and a diameter of 18 to 20 inches, it is common throughout 

 the State. (Fig. 17, p. 88.) 



The white hickory bears fruit frequently and in abundance. 

 Seedlings are common near old trees and in second-growth 

 woods, and often in dry or moist uplands a considerable part 

 of the forest is composed of young trees of this species. Yuong 



*Carya tomentosa, Nuttall. 



