#pignut

[ID: A photo of a white hand holding a pignut hickory nut that has been crushed in half, with the thin outer husk still attached, showing the shell and nut meat on the inside. The outer husk is dark brown, the very thick shell is light tan, and the nut meat in the center is brown and grey. End ID.]

Pignut Hickory

Botanical name: Carya glabra All Common Names: pignut hickory Family (English): Walnut Family (Botanic): Juglandaceae Planting Site: Residential and parks, City parkway, Wide median Tree or Plant Type: Tree Foliage: Deciduous (seasonally loses leaves) Native Locale: Chicago area, Illinois, North America Landscape Uses: Parkway/street, Shade tree, Specimen Size Range: Large tree (more than 40 feet) Mature Height: 50-60 feet Mature Width: 25-35 feet Light Exposure: Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily), Partial sun/shade (4-6 hrs light daily), Full shade (4 hrs or less of light daily) Hardiness Zones: Zone 4, Zone 5 (Chicago), Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8, Zone 9

BUILD/BEAUTY

For build qualities, pignut hickory is one of the strongest native trees to the united states. The ability to be adverse to hard shocks make this wood ideal for ladder rungs, wagon wheels, or anything that will have high impact throughout its useful lifetime. The wood is not very workable due to its hardness. It is harder than white pine and hard maple. its uses also include hardwood flooring, as it soaks up laminates well. This wood doesn’t necessarily have structural capabilities but it rates high at 9 out of 10 for build.

For beauty, this tree is definitely not your average deciduous tree.The leaves are oblong and have nice fruiting bodies to them, hence the name pignut hickory. The fall color is a lovely yellow and this specimen held on to its leaves pretty longer than the rest of its neighbors, making it stand out well. Here’s the beauty breakdown.

Bark: (1-3) 1

Leaves: (1-4) 3

Landscape uniqueness: (1-3) 2

Total: 6

Source: 

1. https://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/pignut-hickory

2. https://www.wood-database.com/pignut-hickory/

      Conopodium majus, provisional identification. (more…)

Carya glabra // Pignut

Grows in rich, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Best performance occurs in moist soils. Generally intolerant of shade. Primarily native to hillsides and ridges. Zone 4-9.

Native to the Eastern United States

50-80'.

Leaves: Compound, odd-pinnate, dark yellowish-green.  Toothed, ovate-lanceolate leaflets to 3-6” long.

Flowers: Yellowish-green. Male flowers in drooping catkins  and female flowers on short spikes. 

Fruit: rounded nuts produced after the tree is 25 years old.

Bark: Thick, deep ridges, grey.

Difficult to transplant because of the deep taproot.