LEAVES: Alternate, compound, 8″-14″ long, usually with 5 leaflets, dark yellowish green above, paler, often downy beneath, margins fine-toothed.
TWIGS: Gray-brown to reddish brown, stout and often hairy with numerous lenticels. Buds are large with 3 or 4 nearly smooth, dark brown, loosely fitting outer scales and velvety inner scales; end buds 1/2″ to 3/4″ long.
FRUIT: Nearly round, 1″ to 2½” in diameter with a thick husk that splits into 4 pieces when ripe. The usually thin-shelled, 4-ridged, white nut is pointed at one end and has a sweet kernel.
BARK: Younger trees smooth and gray; older bark breaking into long, loosely attached plates giving the trunk a shaggy appearance.
GENERAL: This 70′ to 80′ tall tree is found in rich soils on slopes and valleys throughout the Commonwealth. The wood of all the hickories is heavy, hard, and strong and used principally for tool handles. Hickory is a valuable fuel wood and is used to give a smoked flavor to meats. Archaic uses included bow-wood, and wheel spokes for carriages and carts. The nuts are much relished by man and wildlife. The native Americans crushed the kernel, using the oil for cooking and the resulting flour for bread.
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