BITTERNUT HICKORY 



(Hicoria Minima) 



THE tannin in the thin shelled nuts which grow abundantly on this 

 tree gives the name bitternut. The name is truly descriptive. 

 Gall itself scarcely exceeds the intense bitterness of the kernel, when 

 crushed between the teeth. The sense of taste does not immediately 

 detect the bitterness in its full intensity. A little time seems to be 

 necessary to dissolve the astringent principal and distribute it to the 

 nerves of taste. When this has been accomplished, the bitterness 

 remains a long time, seeming to persist after the last vestige of the cause 

 has been removed. In that respect it may be likened to the resin of the 

 incense cedar of California which is among tastes what musk is among 

 odors, nearly everlasting. The bitterness of this hickory nut has much 

 to do with the perpetuation of the species. No wild or tame animal will 

 eat the fruit unless forced by famine. Consequently, the nuts are left 

 to grow, provided they can get themselves planted. That is not always 

 easy, for small quadrupeds which bury edible nuts for food, and then 

 occasionally forget them, show no interest whatever in the unpalatable 

 bitternut. It is left where it falls, unless running water, or some other 

 method of locomotion, transports it to another locality. This happens 

 with sufficient frequency to plant the nuts as widely as those of any other 

 hickory. It is believed that this is the most abundant of the hickories. 



The tree bears names other than bitternut. It is called swamp 

 hickory, though that name is more applicable to a different species, the 

 water hickory. Pig hickory or pignut are names used in several states, 

 but without good reason. Hogs may sometimes eat the nuts, but never 

 when anything better can be found. Besides, pignut is the accepted 

 name of another species (Hicoria glabra). In Louisiana they call it the 

 bitter pecan tree. Bitter hickory is a common name in many localities. 

 In New Hampshire it is known as pig walnut, hi Vermont as bitter 

 walnut, and in Texas as white hickory. The names are so many, and so 

 often apply as well to other hickories as to this, that the name alone is 

 seldom a safe guide to identification. It has two or three characters 

 which will help to pick it out from among others. Its leaves and bark 

 bear considerable resemblance to ash. The leaves are the smallest 

 among the hickories, and the bark is never shaggy. The small branches 

 always carry yellow buds, no matter what the season of the year. The 

 compound leaves are from six to ten niches long, and consist of from five 

 to nine leaflets, always an odd number. 



Bitternut hickory's range covers pretty generally the eastern part 



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