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West Virginia Trees

Chapter 52: BITTERNUT HICKORY
By A. B. Brooks
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Nature/Gardening/Animals

About This Book

A practical field guide to the native and introduced trees of West Virginia, providing keys based mainly on leaves and fruits, concise family and species descriptions, and detailed line drawings for about 101 native species. It organizes trees by botanical families, gives brief flower notes, a glossary of terms, and suggestions for identifying specimens; occasional introduced species and shrubs are noted. The bulletin emphasizes simplicity for non-specialists, offers measurements and habit descriptions for each species, and includes administrative prefatory material. Its aim is to aid lay readers and students in tree identification and to encourage local interest in forestry.

BITTERNUT HICKORY

Carya cordiformis, (Wang.) K. Koch.

Form.—Height 60-75 feet, diameter 1-2½ feet; trunk long and free from limbs; crown rounded, broadest near the top.

Leaves.—Alternate, compound, 6-10 inches long; leaflets 7-11, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, taper-pointed, serrate, yellow-green above, paler beneath.

Flowers.—May, monoecious; similar to those of the other hickories.

Fruit.—Spherical to obovate; about 1 inch long, coated with a yellow scurfy pubescence; husk thin, splitting half way to the base, sutures winged at the top; nut nearly smooth with a small bitter kernel.

Bark.—Not so rough as in other species, but with many narrow connecting ridges.

Wood.—Similar to that of other hickories but not so strong and of less fuel value.

Range.—Southern Canada and Minnesota to Nebraska, Florida and Texas.

Distribution in West Virginia.—Found in scattered growth in nearly all parts of the State.

Habitat.—Prefers low ground along streams, but is often seen on higher ground. The name, Swamp Hickory, is not inappropriate.

Notes.—Of less value than our other hickories, but of sufficient worth to warrant its propagation in suitable places. This tree can be distinguished by its more numerous leaflets and by its small bitter-kerneled nuts.