402 JUGLANDACE.fi. ( WALNUT FAMILY. J 



pleasant-tasted and less oily than the butternut, but greatly inferior to the Euro- 

 pean walnut (J. R:EGIA). 



2. C A KIT A, Nutt. HICKORY. 



Sterile flowers in slender lateral catkins which are mostly in threes on a com- 

 mon peduncle : calyx naked, unequally 3-parted. Stamens 3 - 8 : filaments 

 nearly wanting. Fertile flowers 2-3 together at the end of the branches, with 

 a 4-toothed calyx : petals none Stigma large, 4-lobcd. Fruit globular, with a 

 rather fleshy and at length leathery epicarp or husk, which splits into 4 valves, 

 and falls away when ripe from the smooth and slightly 4 - G-angled incompletely 

 4-celled endocarp or nut-shell. Trees with hard and very tough wood, and 

 odd-pinnate leaves of 5 - 9 leaflets ; the two sorts of flowers from the same scaly 

 buds with these, the sterile aments borne below the leaves. Pith continuous. 

 (Kapua, an ancient name of the Walnut.) All flower in May, and shed their 

 nuts in October. 



* Seed edible and delicious : husk of tlie fruit completely 4-valvcd (falling away in 4 



separate pieces at maturity). 

 < Fruit and nut elongated-oblong ; the husk thin : bark of the trunk not shaggy. 



1. C. olivaefOrmis, Nutt. (PECAN-NUT.) Nearly smooth ; leaflets 

 13-15, oblong-lanceolate, serrate, somewhat falcate; nut olive-shaped, with a 

 thin shell. River-bottoms, from Illinois southward. A large tree ; its de- 

 licious nuts well-known. 



- *- Fruit globular, its husk very thick: bark of old trwik shaggy, exfoliating in 

 strips or plates : buds large and very scaly. 



2. C. :ilba, Nutt. (SHELL-BARK or SHAG-BARK HICKORY.) Leaflets 5, 

 minutely downy underneath, finely serrate, the 3 upper obovate-lanceolate, the 

 lower pair much smaller and oblong-lanceolate, all taper-pointed ; fruit depressed- 

 globular ; nut somewhat flattened, nearly pointless, with a rather thin whitish shell 

 and a large kernel. Rich moist woods ; common. A tall and handsome tree, 

 the old trunks very rough-barked : wood most valuable as timber, and for fuel ; 

 while the fruit furnishes the principal hickory-nuts of the market. 



3. C. SUlcata, Nutt. (THICK SHELL-BARK HICKORY.) Leaflets 7-9, 

 obovate-lanceolate, sharply serrate, downy underneath ; fruit oval, 4-ribbed above 

 the middle with intervening furrows ; nut strongly pointed, slightly flattened, with a 

 thick yellowish shell. Rich woods, Penn. to Illinois and Kentucky. Nuts 

 nearly as sweet as in the last, Heart-wood light-colored. 



* * Seed sweetish, but small: valves of the husk not separating to the base : nut hard- 



shelled : bark not shaggy. 



4. C. tomentosa, Nutt. (MOCKER-NDT. WHITE-HEART HICKORY.) 

 Leaflets 7-9, oblong- or obovate-lanceolate, slightly serrate, roughish-downy un- 

 derneath as well as the petiole ; catkins hairy ; fruit globular or ovoid, with a thick 

 and hard husk, which splits almost to the base ; nut somewhat 6-angled, the shell 

 very thick and hard (light brown). Dry woods ; common, especially southward 

 and westward. A tall tree with resinous-scented foliage, and cracked bark on 

 the larger trunks ; the wood celebrated for its excellence as fuel. The small 



