74 



to ohovoiti, 15-30 mm. long, comprosscd, generally about 20 per cent 

 wider than thick, usually rounded at the base, generally slightly 

 obovoid with the apex rounded, or obcordate; a common form has 

 the four sides rounded, as wide as long or almost so, with the ends 

 aljruptly rounded so as to appear almost truncate, the elliptic form with 

 both ends pointed is our rarest and smallest form; the surface on all 

 forms is cjuite smooth, except the elliptic forms which have the angles 

 usually extending from the tip to the base, on other forms the nuts are 

 usually not jirominently angled and on some the angles are very obscure 

 except at the apex; shell usually thin, 1-1.5 mm. thick; kernel sweet; 

 wood and uses the same as that of the shellbark hickory. 



Sargent' has described five varieties of this species, three of which 

 he credits to Indiana. The writei- has sent him specimens from over 

 100 trees of this sjiecies, and he has variously distributed them to the 

 type and varieties. Heimlich has reported Sargent's determination of 

 many of these specimens in the Proc. Ind. Acad. Science, 1917:4.36-439: 

 1918. The writer cannot agree with the determinations and believes 

 fuither field study is necessary to discover chai'acters by which the 

 several foiins can consistently be divided. 



To stimulate the stud}- of this species, the oiiginal desci'iption of the 

 varieties together with Sargent's characterization of the type are quoted 

 because they ai'e cfintained in a l)Ook not usually found in libraries. 

 To these descriptions ai'e adde<l new charactej-s which Sargent gives in 

 liis re\ision of the liifd^oiies in Bot. TJaz. (ifi :245-247 :1918. 

 (>arya ovali.s (type). 



'Tn 1he sliajjc (jf the fruil and in the thickness of its involucj-e this 

 tiee is of four distinct forms; in all of them (he involucre s])lits freely 

 to the base, or nearly 1o the Ijase, the shell of the nut is thin and the 

 si'dl, although small, is sweet anfl ediljle. The extremes of these forms 

 ai'C vei-y distinct, but tliei-e are forms which are intermediate between 

 tliem, so that it is diffii'ult to decide sometimes to which of the form.s 

 tliesc iritei-niediate ff)rnis should Ije I'eferred. The fii'st of these forms, 

 as the f]uit agi'ees with Wangenheim's figure, must be considered the 

 1 ype of the s))ecies. The fi'uit is oval, narrowed and rounded at the base, 

 acute at the apex, usually from 2.5-3 cm. long and about 1.5 cm. in 

 diameter. The involucre is from 2-2.5 mm. thick and occasif)nally one 

 of the sutui-es remains closed. The nut is oblong, slightby flattened, 

 iounde(l at the base, acute or acuminate and four-angled at the apex, 

 tlie i-idges extending for one-third or rarely for one-half of its length, 

 fioni 2-2.5 cm. long and about 1.5 cm. in diameter. The shell is usually 

 about 1 nini. thick." "The type of this species and its varieties have 

 glabrousor rarely slightly pubescent leaves, with usually 7 thin leaflets." 



iTrfC-s and Shruhs 2:208-209:191.3 and Rot. Gaz. r,6:247 :191 8. 



