Bitternut Hickory
(Wide & Flat: Alternate Arrangement) |
| Bitternut hickory normally attains heights of 60'- 70' when growing
on moist, fertile bottomland soils but it can also be found on well-drained uplands
throughout the state. The wood of this species is somewhat more brittle than other
hickories and the nuts are too bitter to eat. Bitternut hickory is reported to
be the best wood for smoking ham and bacon, giving a rich "hickory smoked"
flavor. |
Carya cordiformis (Wang.) K.Koch
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| Leaves |
| Alternate, compound, 6"-10" long, divided into
7-11 lance-shaped leaflets, bright green and smooth above, paler and somewhat
downy beneath, margins finely to coarsely toothed. |
| Twigs |
| Slender smooth, glossy, orange-brown to grayish with numerous
pale lenticels. Buds covered by 4 sulphur-yellow, gland-dotted outer scales. End
buds flattened, ¾" long. |
| Fruit |
| Nearly round, ¾"-1½" in diameter
with a thin, yellowish gland-dotted husk, which splits into 4 sections almost
to the middle when ripe. The ridgeless reddish brown to gray brown nut has a thin
shell protecting a bitter kernel. |
| Bark |
| The tight gray bark remains rather smooth for many years
eventually developing shallow furrows and low, narrow interlacing ridges. |
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