234 FAMILIAR TREES AND TIIEIR LEAVES. 



120 feet high. Its sharp-toothed leaflets grow from 

 five to nine on a stem (usually seven, and rarely 

 nine) ; they are smooth above and below, but some- 

 times tufts of pale hairs will be discovered at the 

 angles of the ribs ; the leaf color is a rich, deej:>, yel- 

 low green. The fruit has a very thin husk, and is 

 somewhat pear-shaped or else oval ; the husk often 

 splits open only at the apex, and falls with the nut to 

 the ground. The kernel is at first sweet, then after- 

 ward bitter. The fruit from which my drawing was 

 made measured scarcely one inch in length ; not in- 

 frequently, however, larger specimens are found.* 



The pignut is distributed from Maine to south- 

 eastern Nebraska, southward to Florida, and along 

 the Gulf States to Kansas and Texas. It is very 

 common on hillsides and dry ridges in all the North- 

 ern States. 

 Small-fruit Hickory. The small-fruit hickory bears a small 



Carya microcarpa. lmt ^{fo a ft^ \ ms ], wn ich splits 



Hicoria glabra, 



var. odorata. open nearly to the base ; the smooth- 

 shelled nut is roundish and free from angles ; in 

 some instances it is hardly more than half an inch 

 deep. The kernel is very sweet. 



There are usually five (often seven) leaflets on a 



* In the Silva of North America, Prof. Sargent says Hicoria 

 glabra varies more in the size and shape of its fruit than any other 

 of the hickories. 



