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''Carya glabra'', the pignut hickory, is a common, but not abundant species of
hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mexi ...
in the oak-hickory forest association in the Eastern United States and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Other common names are pignut, sweet pignut, coast pignut hickory, smoothbark hickory, swamp hickory, and broom hickory. The pear-shaped
nut Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, or a collective noun for dry and edible fruits or seeds * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut or Nuts may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Co ...
ripens in September and October, has a sweet maple like smell, and is an important part of the diet of many wild animals. The
wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
is used for a variety of products, including fuel for home heating. Its leaves turn yellow in the Fall.


Habitat


Native range

The range of pignut hickory covers nearly all of the eastern United States (11). The species grows in central
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
and northward through
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
to southern
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. It also grows north of the Gulf Coast through
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
,
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
north to
Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
and extreme southeastern
Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
, and the
Lower Peninsula of Michigan The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the ...
. The best development of this species is in the lower
Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...
Basin. It prevails over other species of hickory in the
Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...
n forests. Pignut makes up much of the hickory harvested in
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
,
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
, the
Cumberland Mountains The Cumberland Mountains are a mountain range in the southeastern section of the Appalachian Mountains. They are located in western Virginia, southwestern West Virginia, the eastern edges of Kentucky, and eastern middle Tennessee, including the ...
of
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, and the hill country of the
Ohio Valley The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illinoi ...
. Pignut hickory is also found in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in southern
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. It does however have a limited range and is restricted to the Niagara Peninsula, southern
Halton Region The Regional Municipality of Halton, or Halton Region, is a regional municipality in Ontario, Canada, located in the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario. It comprises the city of Burlington and the towns of Oakville, Milton, and Halton Hil ...
, the
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
area along western
Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...
, and southward along the northern shore of
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...
and pockets of extreme southwestern Ontario.


Climate

Pignut hickory grows in a
humid Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depen ...
climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...
with an average annual
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
of 760 to 2,030 mm (30 to 80 in) of which 510 to 1,020 mm (20 to 40 in) is
rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
during the growing season. Average
snowfall Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
varies from little to none in the South to 2,540 mm (100 in) or more in the mountains of
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
, southeastern
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, and southern
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
(25). Within the range of pignut hickory,
average annual temperature Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorological ...
s vary from 7 °C (45 °F) in the north to 21 °C (70 °F) in Florida. Average January temperature varies from -4° to 16 °C (25° to 60 °F) and average July temperature varies from 21° to 27 °C (70° to 80 °F). Extremes of 46° and -30 °C (115° and -22 °F) have been recorded within the range. The
growing season A season is a division of the year marked by changes in weather, ecology, and the amount of daylight. The growing season is that portion of the year in which local conditions (i.e. rainfall, temperature, daylight) permit normal plant growth. Whil ...
varies by
latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...
and
elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
from 140 to 300 days. Mean annual
relative humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...
ranges from 70 to 80 percent with small monthly differences; daytime relative humidity often falls below 50% while nighttime humidity approaches 100%. Mean annual hours of sunshine range from 2,200 to 3,000. Average January sunshine varies from 100 to 200 hours, and July sunshine from 260 to 340 hours. Mean daily solar radiation ranges from 12.57 to 18.86 million J m± (300 to 450
langley Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...
s). In January daily radiation varies from 6.28 to 12.57 million J m± (150 to 300 langleys), and in July from 20.95 to 23.04 million J m± (500 to 550 langleys). According to one classification of climate (20), the range of pignut hickory south of the
Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...
, except for a small area in Florida, is designated as humid,
mesothermal In climatology, the term mesothermal is used to refer to certain forms of climate found typically in the Earth's temperate zones. It has a moderate span of temperature, with winters not cold enough to sustain snow cover. Summers are warm within oc ...
. That part of the range lying north of the Ohio River is designated humid, mesothermal. Part of the species range in peninsular Florida is classed as subhumid, mesothermal.
Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
s in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee are classed as wet,
microthermal In climatology, the term microthermal is used to denote the continental climates of Eurasia and North America. Etymology The word ''microthermal'' is derived from two Greek words meaning "small" and "heat". This is misleading, however, since the t ...
, and mountains in South Carolina and Georgia are classed as wet, mesothermal. Throughout its range, precipitation is rated adequate during all seasons.


Soils and topography

Pignut hickory frequently grows on dry ridgetops and sideslopes throughout its range but it is also common on moist sites, particularly in the mountains and
Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
. In the
Great Smoky Mountains The Great Smoky Mountains (, ''Equa Dutsusdu Dodalv'') are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge ...
pignut hickory has been observed on dry sandy soils at low elevations. Whittaker (27) placed pignut in a submesic class and charted it as ranging up to 1480 m (4,850 ft)-the hickory with the greatest elevational range in the Great Smoky Mountains. In southwest Virginia, south-facing upper slopes from 975 to 1050 m (3,200 to 3,445 ft) of Beanfield Mountain are dominated by pignut hickory, northern red oak ''
Quercus rubra ''Quercus rubra'', the northern red oak, is an oak tree in the red oak group (''Quercus'' section ''Lobatae''). It is a native of North America, in the eastern and central United States and southeast and south-central Canada. It has been introdu ...
''), and white oak ('' Q. alba''). This site is the most xeric
habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
on the mountain because of high
insolation Solar irradiance is the power per unit area (surface power density) received from the Sun in the form of electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range of the measuring instrument. Solar irradiance is measured in watts per square metre (W/m ...
, 70 percent slopes, and medium- to coarse-textured soils derived from
Clinch sandstone Clinch may refer to: * Nail (fastener) or device to hold in this way * Clinching, in metalworking * Clinch fighting or the clinch, a grappling position in boxing or wrestling, a stand-up embrace * Clinch County, Georgia, USA * Clinch River, near T ...
. Mid-elevation slopes from 800 to 975 m (2,625 to 3,200 ft) are dominated by chestnut oak ('' Q. prinus''), northern red oak, and pignut hickory and coincide with three
shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
formations (12). The range of pignut hickory encompasses 7
orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
, 12 suborders, and 22 great groups of
soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...
s (24,25). About two-thirds of the species range is dominated by
Ultisols Ultisols, commonly known as red clay soils, are one of twelve soil orders in the United States Department of Agriculture soil taxonomy. The word "Ultisol" is derived from "ultimate", because Ultisols were seen as the ultimate product of continu ...
, which are low in bases and have subsurface horizons of
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
accumulation. They are usually moist but are dry during part of the warm season. Udults is the dominant suborder and Hapludults and Paleudults are the dominant great groups. These soils are derived from a variety of parent materials-
sedimentary Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic matter, organic particles at Earth#Surface, Earth's surface, followed by cementation (geology), cementation. Sedimentati ...
and
metamorphic Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causin ...
rocks,
glacial till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...
, and in places varying thickness of
loess Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits. Loess is a periglacial or aeolian ...
-which vary in age from
Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...
to
Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...
. A wide range of soil fertility exists as evidenced by soil orders-
Alfisols Alfisols are a soil order in USDA soil taxonomy. Alfisols form in semi-arid to humid areas, typically under a hardwood forest cover. They have a clay-enriched subsoil and relatively high native fertility. "Alf" refers to aluminium (Al) and iron ( ...
and
Mollisols Mollisol is a soil type which has deep, high organic matter, nutrient-enriched surface soil (a horizon), typically between 60 and 80 cm in depth. This fertile surface horizon, called a mollic epipedon, is the defining diagnostic feature of M ...
which are medium to high in base saturation to Ultisols which are low in base saturation (24). Pignut hickory responds to increases in soil nitrogen similarly to American beech (''
Fagus grandifolia ''Fagus grandifolia'', the American beech or North American beech, is a species of beech tree native to the eastern United States and extreme southeast of Canada. Description ''Fagus grandifolia'' is a large deciduous tree growing to tall, w ...
''), sugar maple (''
Acer saccharum ''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the prima ...
''), and blackgum (''
Nyssa sylvatica ''Nyssa sylvatica'', commonly known as tupelo, black tupelo, black gum or sour gum, is a medium-sized deciduous tree native to eastern North America from the coastal Northeastern United States and southern Ontario south to central Florida and e ...
'') (15). These species are rated as intermediate in nitrogen deficiency tolerance and consequently are able to grow with lower levels of nitrogen than are required by "nitrogen- demanding" white ash (''
Fraxinus americana ''Fraxinus americana'', the white ash or American ash, is a species of '' ash tree'' native to eastern and central North America. The species is native to mesophytic hardwood forests from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, south to northern Florida ...
''), yellow-poplar (''
Liriodendron tulipifera ''Liriodendron tulipifera''—known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tulipwood, tuliptree, tulip poplar, whitewood, fiddletree, and yellow-poplar—is the North American representative of the two-species genus ''Liriodendron'' (the other ...
''), and American basswood (''
Tilia americana ''Tilia americana'' is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Oklahoma, southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to ...
''). Hickories are considered "soil improvers" because their
leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
have a relatively high
calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...
content.


Associated forest cover

Hickories are consistently present in the broad eastern upland
climax Climax may refer to: Language arts * Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work * Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance Biology * Climax community, a biological community th ...
forest association commonly called oak-hickory, but they are not generally abundant (18). Locally, hickories may make up to 20 to 30 percent of stand basal area, particularly in slope and cove forests below the
escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...
of the
Cumberland Plateau The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, and portions of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia. The terms "Alle ...
(23) and in second-growth forests in the
Cumberland Mountains The Cumberland Mountains are a mountain range in the southeastern section of the Appalachian Mountains. They are located in western Virginia, southwestern West Virginia, the eastern edges of Kentucky, and eastern middle Tennessee, including the ...
, especially on benches (14). It has been hypothesized that hickory will replace chestnut ('' Castanea dentata'') killed by the blight (''
Cryphonectria parasitica The pathogenic fungus ''Cryphonectria parasitica'' (formerly ''Endothia parasitica'') is a member of the Ascomycota (sac fungi). This necrotrophic fungus is native to East Asia and South East Asia and was introduced into Europe and North America ...
'') in the
Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...
n Highlands (10,12). On Beanfield Mountain in Giles County,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, the former chestnut-oak complex has changed to an oak-hickory association over a period of 50 years. This association is dominated by pignut hickory with an importance value of 41.0 (maximum value = 300), northern red oak (36.0), and chestnut oak (25.0). White oak, red maple (Acer rubrum), and sugar maple are subdominant species. Pignut hickory is an associated species in 20 of the 90 forest cover types listed by the
Society of American Foresters The Society of American Foresters (SAF) is a professional organization representing the forestry industry in the United States. Its mission statement declares that it seeks to "advance the science, education, and practice of forestry; to enhance t ...
for the eastern United States (6):


Northern forest region

53
White Pine ''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been further ...
-
Chestnut Oak ''Quercus montana'', the chestnut oak, is a species of oak in the white oak group, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus''. It is native to the eastern United States, where it is one of the most important ridgetop trees from southern Maine southwest ...


Central forest region

40
Post Oak ''Quercus stellata'', the post oak or iron oak, is a North American species of oak in the white oak section. It is a slow-growing oak that lives in dry areas on the edges of fields, tops of ridges also grows in poor soils, and is resistant to ro ...
- Blackjack Oak
44
Chestnut Oak ''Quercus montana'', the chestnut oak, is a species of oak in the white oak group, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus''. It is native to the eastern United States, where it is one of the most important ridgetop trees from southern Maine southwest ...

45
Pitch Pine ''Pinus rigida'', the pitch pine, is a small-to-medium-sized pine. It is native to eastern North America, primarily from central Maine south to Georgia and as far west as Kentucky. It is found in environments which other species would find unsuit ...

46
Eastern Redcedar ''Juniperus virginiana'', also known as red cedar, eastern red cedar, Virginian juniper, eastern juniper, red juniper, and other local names, is a species of juniper native to eastern North America from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico a ...

52
White Oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera '' ...
-
Black Oak Black Oak may refer to: Places in the United States * Black Oak, Arkansas * Black Oak, Daviess County, Indiana * Black Oak, Lake County, Indiana, a neighborhood of Gary, Indiana * Black Oak, Missouri Other * Black Oak Arkansas Black Oak Ar ...
-
Northern Red Oak ''Quercus rubra'', the northern red oak, is an oak tree in the red oak group (''Quercus'' section ''Lobatae''). It is a native of North America, in the eastern and central United States and southeast and south-central Canada. It has been intro ...

53 White Oak
55 Northern Red Oak
57
Yellow-Poplar ''Liriodendron tulipifera''—known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tulipwood, tuliptree, tulip poplar, whitewood, fiddletree, and yellow-poplar—is the North American representative of the two-species genus ''Liriodendron'' (the other ...
-
Tulip tree ''Liriodendron'' () is a genus of two species of characteristically large trees, deciduous over most of their populations, in the magnolia family (Magnoliaceae). These trees are widely known by the common name tulip tree or tuliptree for their ...

59 Yellow-Poplar-White Oak-Northern Red Oak
64
Sassafras ''Sassafras'' is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.Wolfe, Jack A. & Wehr, Wesley C. 1987. The sassafras is an ornamental tree. "Middle Eoc ...
-
Persimmon The persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus ''Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Oriental persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki'' ''Diospyros'' is in the family Ebenaceae, and a number of non-pers ...

110 Black Oak


Southern forest region

75
Shortleaf Pine ''Pinus echinata'', the shortleaf pine, is a species of pine native to the southeastern United States. Description The tree is variable in form, sometimes straight, sometimes crooked, with an irregular crown. The tree reaches heights of with a ...

76 Shortleaf Pine-
Oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

78
Virginia Pine ''Pinus virginiana'', the Virginia pine, scrub pine, Jersey pine, Possum pine, is a medium-sized tree, often found on poorer soils from Long Island in southern New York south through the Appalachian Mountains to western Tennessee and Alabama. The ...
-Oak
79 Virginia Pine
80
Loblolly Pine ''Pinus taeda'', commonly known as loblolly pine, is one of several pines native to the Southeastern United States, from East Texas to Florida, and north to southern New Jersey. The wood industry classifies the species as a southern yellow pine. ...
-
Shortleaf Pine ''Pinus echinata'', the shortleaf pine, is a species of pine native to the southeastern United States. Description The tree is variable in form, sometimes straight, sometimes crooked, with an irregular crown. The tree reaches heights of with a ...

81 Loblolly Pine
82 Loblolly Pine-
Hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

83 Longleaf Pine-
Slash Pine ''Pinus elliottii'', commonly known as slash pine,Family, P. P. (1990). Pinus elliottii Engelm. slash pine. ''Silvics of North America: Conifers'', (654), 338. is a conifer tree native to the Southeastern United States. Slash pine is named after ...
Because the range of pignut hickory is so extensive, it is not feasible to list the associated
tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s,
shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
s,
herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
s, and
grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...
es, which vary according to
elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
, topographic conditions,
edaphic Edaphology (from Greek , ''edaphos'', "ground",, '' -logia'') is concerned with the influence of soils on living beings, particularly plants. It is one of two main divisions of soil science, the other being pedology. Edaphology includes the stu ...
features, and geographic locality.


Life history


Reproduction and early growth

Flowering A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...
and
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
ing- Hickories are
monoecious Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy. Monoecy is conne ...
and flower in the spring (3). The
staminate The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...
catkins A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster (a spike), with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated (anemophilous) but sometimes insect-pollinated (as in ''Salix''). They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arranged cl ...
of pignut hickory are 8 to 18 cm (3 to 7 in) long and develop from
axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...
s of leaves of the previous season or from inner scales of the terminal
bud In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately. Buds may be spec ...
s at the base of the current growth. The
pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...
late flowers appear in
spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...
s about 6 mm (0.25 in) long on peduncles terminating in shoots of the current year. Flowers open from the middle of March in the southeast part (Florida) of the range to early June in
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. The catkins usually emerge before the pistillate flowers. The
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
of hickory is
pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the p ...
shaped and enclosed in a thin husk developed from the floral
involucre In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or o ...
. The fruit ripens in September and October, and
seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
s are dispersed from September through December. Husks are green until maturity; they turn brown to brownish-black as they ripen. The husks become dry at maturity and split away from the
nut Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, or a collective noun for dry and edible fruits or seeds * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut or Nuts may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Co ...
into four valves along sutures. Husks of pignut hickory split only to the middle or slightly beyond and generally cling to the nut, which is unribbed, with a thick shell.


Seed production and dissemination

Pignut hickory begins to bear
seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
in quantity in 30 years, with optimum production between 75 and 200 years (16). The maximum age for seed production is about 300 years. Good seed crops occur every year or two with light crops in other years;
frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...
can seriously hinder seed production (22). Usually less than half of the seeds are sound (2,3), but 50 to 75 percent of these will germinate. The hickory shuckworm (''Laspeyresia caryana'') can seriously reduce
germination Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, fer ...
. Pignut seed, averaging 440/kg (200/lb), is lighter than the seed of other hickory species. The nuts are disseminated mainly by gravity, but the range of seeding is extended by
squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...
s and
chipmunk Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of the family Sciuridae. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Chipmunks may be classified either as ...
s.


Seedling development

Hickories exhibit embryo dormancy which is overcome naturally by overwintering in the duff and
litter Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. Litter can also be used as a verb; to litter means to drop and leave objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, ...
or artificially by
stratification Stratification may refer to: Mathematics * Stratification (mathematics), any consistent assignment of numbers to predicate symbols * Data stratification in statistics Earth sciences * Stable and unstable stratification * Stratification, or st ...
in a moist medium at 1° to 4 °C (33° to 40 °F) for 30 to 150 days. In forest tree nurseries unstratified hickory nuts are sown in the fall and stratified nuts are sown in the spring. Hickories are hypogeously germinating plants, and the nuts seldom remain viable in the forest floor for more than one winter (22). Seedling growth of hickories is slow. The following height growth of pignut hickory seedlings was reported in the Ohio Valley in the open or under light shade, on red
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
soil (2):


Vegetative reproduction

Hickories sprout readily from
stump Stump may refer to: * Stump (band), a band from Cork, Ireland and London, England * Stump (cricket), one of three small wooden posts which the fielding team attempt to hit with the ball *Stump (dog): Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee (born 1998), 200 ...
s and
root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...
s. Stump sprouting is not as prolific as in other
deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
trees species but the sprouts that are produced are vigorous and grow fairly rapidly in height. Root sprouts also are vigorous and probably more numerous than stump sprouts in cut-over areas. Small stumps sprout more frequently than large ones. Sprouts that originate at or below ground level and from small stumps are less likely to develop
heartwood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin tha ...
decay. Pignut hickory is difficult to reproduce from
cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scal ...
s.


Sapling and pole stages to maturity

Growth and yield- Pignut hickory often grows 24 to 27 m (80 to 90 ft) tall and occasionally reaches 37 m (120 ft), with
d.b.h. Diameter at breast height, or DBH, is a standard method of expressing the diameter of the trunk or bole of a standing tree. DBH is one of the most common dendrometric measurements. Tree trunks are measured at the height of an adult's breast, ...
of 91 to 122 cm (36 to 48 in). The bole is often forked. Height and diameter by age are shown in table 1 for selected locations. Diameter growth of pignut hickory (along with
chestnut oak ''Quercus montana'', the chestnut oak, is a species of oak in the white oak group, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus''. It is native to the eastern United States, where it is one of the most important ridgetop trees from southern Maine southwest ...
,
white oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera '' ...
, sweet birch (''
Betula lenta ''Betula lenta'' (sweet birch, also known as black birch, cherry birch, mahogany birch, or spice birch) is a species of birch native to eastern North America, from southern Maine west to southernmost Ontario, and south in the Appalachian Mounta ...
''), and American beech is rated slow. Since hickories constitute 15 percent or less of the basal area of
oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
-hickory forest types, most growth and yield information is written in terms of oak rather than oak-hickory. Yields of mixed oak stands (5,7,19) and of hickory stands (2) have been reported. Tree volume tables are available (2,19). ---- ¹Second growth. ²Virgin forest.


Rooting habit

Pignut hickory tends to develop a pronounced
taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...
with few laterals and is rated as windfirm (21). The taproot develops early, which may explain the slow growth of seedling shoots. Taproots may develop in compact and stony soils.


Reaction to competition

The hickories as a group are classed as intermediate in shade tolerance; however, pignut hickory has been classed as intolerant in the Northeast and tolerant in the Southeast. In much of the area covered by mixed oak forests, shade-tolerant
hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...
s (including the hickories) are
climax Climax may refer to: Language arts * Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work * Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance Biology * Climax community, a biological community th ...
, and the trend of succession toward this climax is very strong. Although most silvicultural systems when applied to oak types will maintain a hardwood forest, the cutting methods used affects the rapidity with which other species may replace the oaks and hickories (17,18,26).


Damaging agents

Pignut hickory is easily damaged by
fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...
, which causes stem degrade or loss of volume, or both. Internal discolorations called mineral streak are common and are one major reason why so few standing hickories meet trade specifications. Streaks result from
yellow-bellied sapsucker The yellow-bellied sapsucker (''Sphyrapicus varius'') is a medium-sized woodpecker that breeds in Canada and the northeastern United States. Taxonomy The yellow-bellied sapsucker was described and illustrated using a hand-coloured plate by the E ...
pecking, pin
knot A knot is an intentional complication in cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including hitches, bends, loop knots, and splices: a ''hitch'' fastens a rope to another object; a ' ...
s, worm holes, and mechanical injuries. Hickories strongly resist ice damage and seldom develop epicormic branches. The Index of Plant Diseases in the United States lists 133
fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...
and 10 other causes of diseases on Carya species (4,9). Most of the fungi are saprophytes, but a few are damaging to foliage, produce
canker A plant canker is a small area of dead tissue, which grows slowly, often over years. Some cankers are of only minor consequence, but others are ultimately lethal and therefore can have major economic implications for agriculture and horticultur ...
s, or cause trunk or
root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...
rots. The most common disease of pignut hickory from Pennsylvania southward is a trunk rot caused by ''Poria spiculosa''. Cankers vary in size and appearance depending on their age. A common form develops around a branch wound and resembles a swollen, nearly healed wound. On large trees these may become prominent
burl A burl (American English) or burr (British English) is a tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner. It is commonly found in the form of a rounded outgrowth on a tree trunk or branch that is filled with small knots from do ...
-like bodies having several vertical or irregular folds in the callus covering. A single trunk canker near the base is a sign that the butt log is badly infected, and multiple cankers are evidence that the entire tree may be a cull. Major leaf diseases are
anthracnose A plant canker is a small area of dead tissue, which grows slowly, often over years. Some cankers are of only minor consequence, but others are ultimately lethal and therefore can have major economic implications for agriculture and horticultur ...
(''Gnomonia caryae'') and
mildew Mildew is a form of fungus. It is distinguished from its closely related counterpart, mould, largely by its colour: moulds appear in shades of black, blue, red, and green, whereas mildew is white. It appears as a thin, superficial growth consi ...
(''Microstroma juglandis''). The former causes brown spots with definite margins on the undersides of the leaf. These may coalesce and cause widespread blotching. Mildew invades the leaves and twigs and may form witches' brooms by stimulating bud formation. Although locally prevalent, mildew offers no problem in the management of hickory. The stem
canker A plant canker is a small area of dead tissue, which grows slowly, often over years. Some cankers are of only minor consequence, but others are ultimately lethal and therefore can have major economic implications for agriculture and horticultur ...
(''Nectria galligena'') produces depressed areas with concentric bark rings that develop on the trunk and branches. Affected trees are sometimes eliminated through breakage or competition and sometimes live to reach merchantable size with cull section at the canker. No special control measures are required, but cankered trees should be harvested in stand improvement operations. A gall-forming fungus species of ''Phomopsis'' can produce warty excrescences ranging from small twig
gall Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants, fungi, or animals. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to be ...
s to very large trunk
burl A burl (American English) or burr (British English) is a tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner. It is commonly found in the form of a rounded outgrowth on a tree trunk or branch that is filled with small knots from do ...
s on northern hickories and oaks. Little information is available on root diseases of hickory. More than 100
insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
s have been reported to infest hickory trees and
wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
products, but only a few cause death or severe damage (1). The hickory
bark beetle A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true weevil" family (Curculionidae). Although the ...
(''Scolytus quadrispinosus'') is the most important insect enemy of hickory, and also one of the most important insect pests of hardwoods in the Eastern United States. During
drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D.  Jiang, A.  Khan, W.  Pokam Mba, D.  Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
periods in the Southeast, outbreaks often develop and large tracts of timber are killed. At other times, damage may be confined to the killing of a single tree or to portions of the tops of trees. The foliage of heavily infested trees turns red within a few weeks after attack, and the trees soon die. There is one generation per year in northern areas and normally two broods per year in the South. Control consists of felling infested trees and destroying the bark during winter months or storing infested logs in ponds. Logs and dying trees of several hardwood species including pignut hickory are attacked by the
ambrosia beetle Ambrosia beetles are beetles of the weevil subfamilies Scolytinae and Platypodinae ( Coleoptera, Curculionidae), which live in nutritional symbiosis with ambrosia fungi. The beetles excavate tunnels in dead, stressed, and healthy trees in wh ...
(''Platypus quadridentatus'') throughout the South and north to West Virginia and North Carolina. The false powderpost beetle (''Xylobiops basilaris'') attacks recently felled or dying trees, logs, or limbs with bark in the Eastern and Southern States. Hickory, persimmon (''
Diospyros virginiana ''Diospyros virginiana'' is a persimmon species commonly called the American persimmon, common persimmon, eastern persimmon, simmon, possumwood, possum apples, or sugar plum. It ranges from southern Connecticut to Florida, and west to Texas, ...
''), and pecan ('' C. illinoinensis'') are most frequently infested, but other hardwoods also are attacked. Healthy trees growing in proximity to heavily infested trees are occasionally attacked but almost always without success. Hickory is one of several host species of the twig girdler (''Oncideres cingulata''). Infested trees and seedlings are not only damaged severely but become ragged and unattractive. A few of the more common species of gall-producing insects attacking hickory are ''
Phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belong to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs ...
caryaecaulis'', '' Caryomyia holotricha'', ''C. sanguinolenta'', and ''C. tubicola''.


Special uses

Hickories provide food to many kinds of wildlife (8,13). The nuts are relished by several species of
squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...
and represent an estimated 10 to 25 percent of their diet. Hogs were observed consuming the nuts in
colonial America The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the Revolutionary War. In the ...
, lending the species its common name. Nuts and flowers are eaten by the
wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an Upland game bird, upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic ...
and several species of
songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 500 ...
s. Nuts and bark are eaten by
black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...
s,
fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
es,
rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...
s, and
raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...
s. Small
mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
s eat the nuts and leaves; 5 to 10 percent of the diet of eastern
chipmunk Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of the family Sciuridae. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Chipmunks may be classified either as ...
s is hickory nuts.
White-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
occasionally browse hickory leaves,
twig A twig is a thin, often short, branch of a tree or bush. The buds on the twig are an important diagnostic characteristic, as are the abscission scars where the leaves have fallen away. The color, texture, and patterning of the twig bark are ...
s, and nuts. The kernel of hickory seeds is exceptionally high in crude
fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers spec ...
, up to 70 to 80 percent in some species. Crude
protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
,
phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...
, and
calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...
contents are generally moderate to low. Crude
fiber Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...
is very low. Pignut hickory makes up a small percentage of the
biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...
in low-quality upland hardwood stands that are prime candidates for
clearcutting Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/ logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters to create certain types of fore ...
for chips or fuelwood as the first step toward rehabilitation to more productive stands. Hickory has a relatively high heating value and is used extensively as a home heating fuel. Pignut hickory is an important
shade tree A shade tree is a large tree whose primary role is to provide shade in the surrounding environment due to its spreading canopy (forest), canopy and crown (botany), crown, where it may give shelter from sunlight in the heat of the summer for peopl ...
in wooded
suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
areas over most of the range but is seldom planted as an
ornamental tree Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...
because of its size and difficulty of transplanting, although it has spectacular orangey-red fall colors.


Genetics

''Carya glabra'' var. ''megacarpa'' (Sarg.) Sarg., coast pignut hickory, was once recognized as a distinct variety but is now considered to be a synonym of ''C. glabra'' (Mill.) Sweet. ''C. leiodermis'' Sarg., swamp hickory, has also been added as a synonym of ''C. glabra'' (11). ''Carya glabra'' (Mill.) Sweet var. ''glabra'' distinguishes the (typical) pignut hickory from red hickory (''C. glabra'' var. ''odorata'' (Marsh.) Little). The
taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
position of red hickory is controversial. The binomial ''C. ovalis'' (Wangenh.) Sarg. was published in 1913 for a segregate of ''C. glabra''. It was reduced to a
synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
of ''C. glabra'' in Little's 1953 checklist but was elevated to a
variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
in the 1979 edition (11). The principal difference is in the husk of the
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
, opening late and only partly, or remaining closed in ''C. glabra'' but promptly
splitting Splitting may refer to: * Splitting (psychology) * Lumpers and splitters, in classification or taxonomy * Wood splitting * Tongue splitting * Splitting, railway operation Mathematics * Heegaard splitting * Splitting field * Splitting principle ...
to the base in C. ovalis. However, many trees are intermediate in this trait, and the recorded ranges are almost the same. The leaves of ''C. ovalis'' have mostly seven leaflets; those of ''C. glabra'' have mostly five leaflets. The two can be distinguished with certainty only in November. Since the two ranges seem to overlap, the distributions have been mapped together as a Carya glabra-ovalis complex (11). ''Carya ovalis'' has also been treated as an interspecific hybrid between ''C. glabra'' and ''C. ovata''. ''C. ovalis'' was accepted as a polymorphic species especially variable in size and shape of its nuts and is possibly a
hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
. The relationships may be more complex after a long and reticulate
phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spec ...
, according to detailed
chemical A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wi ...
analyses of hickory nut oils. ''Carya glabra'' is a 64 chromosome species that readily hybridizes with other hickories, especially ''C. ovalis''. One hybrid, ''C.'' x ''demareei'' Palmer (''C. glabra'' x ''cordiformis'') was described in 1937 from northeastern
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
.


Gallery

File:Carya glabra bud.jpg, Bud File:Carya glabra bud break.jpg, Bud break File:Carya glabra leaves.jpg, Leaves File:Carya glabra (Pignut Hickory) (35052583791).jpg, Female flowers File:Carya glabra immature fruit.jpg, Maturing fruit File:Carya glabra AA.jpg, ''Carya glabra'' in fall


References

#Baker, Whiteford L. 1972. Eastern forest insects. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Miscellaneous Publication 1175. Washington, DC. 642 p. #Boisen, A. T., and J. A. Newlin. 1910. The commercial hickories. USDA Forest Service, Bulletin 80. Washington, DC. 64 p. #Bonner, F. T., and L. C. Maisenhelder. 1974. Carya Nutt. Hickory. In Seeds of woody plants in the United States. p. 262-272. C. S. Schopmeyer, tech. coord. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook 450. Washington, DC. #Campbell, W. A., and A. F. Verrall. 1956. Fungus enemies of hickory. USDA Forest Service, Hickory Task Force Report 3. Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, Asheville, NC. 8 p. #Dale, M. E. 1972. Growth and yield predictions for upland oak stands 10 years after initial thinning. USDA Forest Service, Research Paper NE-241. Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Upper Darby, PA. 21 p. #Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Society of American Foresters, Washington, DC. 148 p. #Gingrich, S. F. 1971. Management of young and intermediate stands of upland hardwoods. USDA Forest Service, Research Paper NE-195. Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Upper Darby, PA. 26 p. #Halls, Lowell K., ed. 1977. Southern fruit-producing woody plants used by wildlife. USDA Forest Service, General Technical Report SO-16. Southern Forest Experiment Station, New Orleans, IA. 235 p. #Hepting, George H. 1971. Diseases of forest and shade trees of the United States. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook 386. Washington, DC. 658 p. #Keever, C. 1953. Present composition of some stands of the former oak-chestnut forests in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains. Ecology 34:44-54. #Little, Elbert L. Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook 541. Washington, DC. 375 p. #McCormick, J. F., and R. B. Platt. 1980. Recovery of an Appalachian forest following the chestnut blight or Catherine Keever-you were right! American Midland Naturalist 104:264-273. #Martin, A. C., H. S. Zim, and A. L. Nelson. 1961. American wildlife and plants: a guide to wildlife food habits. Dover Publications, New York. 500 p. Unabridged republication of 1st (1951) edition. #Martin, W. H. Personal correspondence. 1981. USDA Forest Service, Silviculture Laboratory, Sewanee, TN. #Mitchell, H. L., and R. F. Chandler Jr. 1939. The nitrogen nutrition and growth of certain deciduous trees of northeastern United States. Black Rock Forest Bulletin 11. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 94 p. #Nelson, T. C. 1965. Silvical characteristics of the commercial hickories. USDA Forest Service, Hickory Task Force Report 10. Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, Asheville, NC. 16 p. #Roach, B. A., and S. F. Gingrich. 1968. Even-aged silviculture for upland central hardwoods. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook 355. Washington, DC. 39 p. #Sander, Ivan L. 1977. Manager's handbook for oaks in the North Central States. USDA Forest Service, General Technical Report NC-37. North Central Forest Experiment Station, St. Paul, MN. 35 p. #Schnur, G. Luther. 1937. Yield, stand, and volume tables for even-aged upland oak forests. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Technical Bulletin 560. Washington, DC. 87 p. #Thornthwaite, C. W. 1948. The climates of North America according to a new classification. Geographical Review 21:633-655. #Tourney, J. W. 1929. Initial root habits in American trees and its bearing on regeneration. In Proceedings, International Plant Science Congress. 1926. p. 713-728. #Trimble, G. R. Jr. 1975. Summaries of some silvical characteristics of several Appalachian hardwood trees. USDA Forest Service, General Technical Report NE-16. Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Upper Darby, PA. 5 p. #U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1978. Unpublished data. Silviculture Laboratory, Sewanee, TN. #U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1975. Soil taxonomy: a basic system of soil classification for making and interpreting soil surveys. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook 436. Washington, DC. 754 p. #U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey. 1970. The National Atlas of the United States. Washington, DC. 417 p. #Watt, Richard F., Kenneth A. Brinkman, and B. A. Roach. 1973. Oak-hickory. In Silvicultural systems for the major forest types of the United States. p. 66-69. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook 455. Washington, DC. #Whittaker, R. H. 1956. Vegetation of the Great Smoky Mountains. Ecological Monographs 26:1-80.


External links


''Carya glabra'' images at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University Plant Image Database
* Friedman, William (Ned)
"Shadows and highlights in the Arboretum."
''Posts from the Collection,'' Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University website, 19 November 2016. Accessed 21 May 2020. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1406355 glabra Edible nuts and seeds Hardwood forest plants Trees of the Eastern United States Trees of Eastern Canada Flora of the Appalachian Mountains Trees of the Southeastern United States Trees of Ontario Trees of the Northeastern United States Trees of the North-Central United States Trees of humid continental climate Crops originating from the United States