flANDBooK or Trees of the Noethebi^ States and Canada. 55 



The Water Hickory is economically the least 

 important of the Hickories. It is usually a 

 small or medium-size tree from 50 to 70 ft. 

 in height, but in forests of the bottom-land.-^ 

 of the lower Mississippi valley it attains the 

 height of 80-100 ft. with straight columnar 

 trunk 2-21/2 ft. in diameter, and narrow ir- 

 regular top. When isolated it develops an 

 oblong or obovoid top of long rigid branches 

 of which the lowermost are drooping. 



As its name implies it is distinctly a water- 

 loving tree, being confined mostly to low 

 swamps in the southern states, inundated dur- 

 ing a considerable portion of the year, in com- 

 pany with the Planer tree. Swamp Privet, 

 Water Locust, Water and Pumpkin Ashes, 

 Cotton Gum, Red Titi, Cypress, Red Maple, 

 etc. Its dark-colored angular nuts possess a 

 kernel usually too astringent and bitter to be 

 eaten, but I have seen a tree of this species 

 in southeastern Arkansas yielding nuts of 

 sweet delicious flavor. 



The wood of the Water Hickory is heavy, a 

 cubic foot weighing 46.16 lbs., hard and brittle, 

 suitable chiefly for fuel. In sectioning this 

 wood we have found it to be permeated with 

 numerous dark-colored flecks and streaks of 

 some substance of such hardness as to turn 

 the edge of the hardest steel - 



Leaves 8-16 in. long, with slender scurfy-pubes- 

 cent petiole and racliis and 0-l.S lance-ovate leaf- 

 lets the lateral more or less fa'cate, spssile. 

 usually unequally wedge-shaped at hasp, acuminate, 

 2-.5 in, long, thinnish, glandular-dotted, glabrous 

 dark green above. Flowers: staminate aments 

 glandular-pubescent ; calyx-lobes about equal. 

 Fruit compressed, obovoid-oblong, commonly ob- 

 lique with wineetl sutures, thin yellowish pubes- 

 cent husk and flattened brown prominently ridged 

 nut and very rugose thin shell much convoluted 

 and usually bitter kernel. 



1, Carya aguattca Nutt, 



2, A. W., V, 11.5. 



