Tree Description:
A large forest tree reaching heights over 100 feet tall and a trunk to 3 feet in diameter, with a narrow, oval crown.
Range/Site Description:
Occurs on moist rich soils in East Texas, usually along streams and riverbottoms, though not abundant.
Leaf:
Alternate, once-compound, from 6" to 10" long, and composed of 7 to 9 leaflets (occasionally 5 or 11); leaflets are 3" to 6" long and 1" to 2" wide, the largest ones towards the tip if the leaf; terminal winter bud is sulphur-yellow, shaped like a narrowly cupped hand, and rough to the touch.
Flower:
Male and female flowers borne separately on the same tree in spring; the male in three-branched catkins 3" to 4" long, the female in short clusters at the end of the branches.
Fruit:
A round nut, 0.75" to 1" long, enclosed in a thin husk that is 4-winged above the middle, abruptly pointed at the tip; shell thin, with a bitter kernel.
Bark:
Gray-brown, relatively smooth and tight for a hickory, with narrow, interlacing ridges and shallow furrows, but never shaggy.
Wood:
Hard, strong, and heavy, reddishbrown in color, used for tool handles and fuelwood.
Similar Species:
Water hickory (Carya aquatica) has more leaflets and a flat, oval nut; nutmeg hickory (C. myristicaeformis) is a rare tree with slightly shaggy bark and silvery leaf undersides.
Interesting Facts:
Nuts are so bitter tasting, most wildlife species avoid it, however an oil derived from the fruits was once used as a treatment for rheumatism.
