BHBLLBABK HICKORY. SHAGBARK 



Hicoria ovaUi (MUL) Briti 



The Walnut I amily 

 .i i GL \M' M i U 



Habit and Habitat: A medium-sized tree, 10-70 feel high, with 

 a slender, columnar trunk 1-2 feet in diameter; forming a narrow, 

 rounded, more or less open crown of stout branches and twigs. I hs 

 n trees in the forests <>f the fast that were nearly i«>i) feet high. 



Prefers a deep, rich, moist, loamy soil as found on river tlats or low 



odlands. The tap-root is large ami vigorous and hence the tree is 



difficult to transplant. 



Leaves and Buds: alternate, pinnately compound. 6-12 



inches long. Leaflets usually 5, the upper ">-7 inches long and 2-.') inches 

 wide, the lower pair smaller, obovate to oblong-lanceolate, finely serrate, 



thick, firm, more or loss leathery, smooth, dark green above, paler I 

 neath and sometimes finely downy, aromatic when crushed; petioles 



stout, smooth or hairy, enlarged at the base. Terminal bud broadly 



ovate, '--i inch long, dark brown, pair hairy or almost smooth, inner 

 scales enlarging as Bpring growth begins, becoming 2-:! inches long, 

 yellowish green, tinged with red, downy, persisting until the lea* 

 are about half grown. 



Flowers and Fruits: Flowers produced in May, the staminate in 

 hairy, greenish, pendulous catkins, 4-5 inches long, in groups of three; 

 staminate scales 3-parted, bearded, with 4 yellow stamens; pistillate 

 flowers in 2-5-flowered clusters, % inch long, brown-hairy; calyx 4-lobed, 

 hairy; corolla 0. Fruit ripening in October, solitary or in pairs, 1-2 

 inches long, with a thick, dry, light brown, 4-valved husk which splits 

 easily, especially after frost, bearing a single, 4-ridged nut, with thick. 

 hard, whitish shell inside of which is a large, sweet, aromatic seed or 

 kernel. 



Bark, Twigs and Wood: Bark on young stems and twigs downv 

 or smooth, light green, becoming brownish or gray, later light gray and 

 shiny, on old branches and the main trunk, dark gray and 

 separating into thick, ragged strips, 1-2 inches wide and 1-3 feet long, 

 which cling to the trunk by the middle thus producing the characteristic 

 shaggy appearance so well known for this species. Wood hard, heavy, 

 strong, elastic, close-grained, light brown with nearly white sapwood; 

 used in the manufacture of agricultural implements, carriages, tool 

 handles, and fuel. 



Distribution in the State: A very common tree in the forests of 



northern and eastern United Slates and in the forests of Missouri from 



which it has entered Nebraska near the southeastern corner and has 



bended itself northward to ( untv and westward to Gage county. 



p 22. 



Remarks: This is perhaps the best known hickory of North An • 



It yields the common small hickory nuts of commei The 



- hardy throughout its range and because of its ornamental qual- 

 ities it Y n planted to some extent in parks and private estal 

 has also been planted for the nuts which find a ready market. The 



wood ely U*ed for ax and tool handles, plane blocks, wooden screws. 



baskets, fuel, and in the manufacture of implements, carriages, Wagons, 



automobiles, gymnasium apparatus, boxes, barrels, tubs, etc. Hickory 

 is probably our very best fuel wood. 



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