WALNUT FAMILY 
HWood.—Dark brown, sapwood nearly white ; heavy, hard, strong, 
close-grained, tough, elastic. Confounded commercially with that 
of the Shellbark hickories. Sp. gr., 0.8218 ; weight of cu. ft-, 51.21 
lbs. 
Winter Buds.—Terminal buds one-half to three-fourth of an inch 
long, broadly ovate, acute or obtuse, two or three times as large as 
the axillary bud. The three or four outer scales are ovate, acute, 
often keeled, dark reddish brown and often fall late in autumn or 
early winter. The innermost scales enlarge when spring growth 
begins becoming one and a half inches long and half an inch wide, 
ovate, pale green without and bright red within, downy, persist until 
the leaf is half grown. 
Leaves.—Alternate, compound. eight to twelve inches long. Leaf- 
lets seven to nine, oblong-lanceolate or obovate-lanceolate, equally 
or unequally rounded or wedge-shaped at base, serrate, acute or 
acuminate. Usually sessile except the terminal leaflet which is de- 
current on a short stalk. Upper leaflets five to eight inches long. 
Leaflet vernation involute. ‘They come out of the bud thin, pale 
yellow green, downy; when full grown are dark yellow green, shin- 
ing above, pale green or orange or brown and downy beneath ; mi- 
drib stout, prominent. [n autumn they turn a clear or rusty yellow. 
Flowers.—May, when leaves are half grown. Moneecious. Stam- 
inate flowers are borne in triple catkins, four to five inches in length, 
slender, green, hairy. Bracts ovate-lanceolate, hairy, longer than 
the yellow green calyx. Stamens four; anthers bright red. Pistil- 
late flowers in two to five-flowered tomentose spikes. Anterior bract 
longer than the bractlets and calyx- 
lobe. Stigmas dark red; begin to 
wither before the anthers shed their 
pollen. 
Fruit.—Spherical, oblong or ob- 
ovate, dark reddish brown, one and 
one-half to two inches long; husk 
splitting to middle or nearly to base. 
Nut spherical or oblong, often long- 
pointed, four-ridged toward the apex, 
pale reddish brown, with very thick 
hard shell and very small sweet ker- 
nel. October. 
Distinguishing Characters — 
Buds large, bud scales imbricate. 
Staminate catkins borne on branches 
of the year, Leaflets seven to nine, 
oblong-lanccolate or obovate-lanceo- 
late, more or less tomentose on un- 
der surface, fragrant. Fruit with- 
out or with obscure sutural ridges; nut globose, or oblong often 
long-pointed. Four-ridged toward apex, thick-shelled, reddish 
brown; kernel sweet. 
Mockernut, Hicoria alba. Fruit 114’ 
to 2’ long. 
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