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Settlers were unimpressed with the nuts’ flavor and fed them to their hogs. It occurs mostly in the eastern Ozarks but can be found scattered throughout southern Missouri and in a few counties just north of the Missouri River. It has pear-shaped fruits with thin husks. glabra) is a rugged tree of dry upland forests in the eastern Ozarks. It usually occurs in dry, upland areas, in acidic soils, and sometimes also in low woods along streams. It is most common in the southern half of the state. It occurs nearly statewide, except for the far southeast corner and our northwestern counties. tomentosa) stands out from the rest for its hard wood, thick-shelled fruit enclosing relatively small kernels, large and light-colored terminal buds, and tight, never shaggy, bark. Black hickory is widespread south of the Missouri River, typically in acidic soils with low fertility. Because rural Ozarkers noticed their hogs had no trouble extracting the sweet kernels, both species came to be called “pignut hickories.” Black hickory is distinguished from pignut hickory by 7 (not 5) leaflets tapering twigs and young twigs and terminal buds that have fuzzy, rusty scales with tiny yellow dots. texana): the nut of this hickory, like that of the pignut hickory, is awfully hard to crack. Black hickory (Ozark pignut hickory) ( C.Missouri's species in this group include pecan, bitternut, and water hickory. Pecan hickories (section Apocarya) have more than 7 sickle-shaped leaflets, and the terminal bud is elongated and flattened the bud scales do not overlap.Missouri's species in this group are shagbark, shellbark, mockernut, pignut, black, and sand hickory. True hickories (section Carya) have mostly 5–7 leaflets, and there is a large egg-shaped bud at the end of each twig the bud scales overlap strongly.
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Hickories are divided into two major groups: the pecan hickories and the true hickories: The other species do not have shaggy bark. Shagbark, shellbark, and water hickory have “shaggy” bark that peels away from the trunk in long, thin strips. Twigs have the pith solid and homogeneous (not chambered).īark varies. All our hickories produce fruits September–October. The nuts often have 4 lengthwise ridges otherwise, the nut’s outer surface is hard (bony) and either smooth or shallowly wrinkled. Hickory fruits have the husk split lengthwise for at least half of the fruit length, releasing the nut. They are fertilized when wind blows pollen to them from the male flowers. The female flowers are relatively few and inconspicuous, appearing near the tip of the new growth. These are usually 3-branched with several catkins appearing at the base of the current season's growth. Male flowers occur on cylindrical drooping clusters (catkins). Male flowers and female flowers arise from different structures on the same tree.
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Hickory leaves typically turn golden yellow in the fall. In nearly all our species, the leaflet margins are toothed. The largest leaflets are often near the leaf tip, though in some species they are uniform or have the middle leaflets larger. All have alternate, feather-compound leaves with 5–13 unlobed leaflets per leaf. There are 9 species that grow naturally in Missouri. This article has been viewed 1,128,896 times.Hickories are trees in the genus Carya. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.
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He has worked in British, North American, and South American ecosystems, and with First Nations communities, non-profits, government, academia, and industry. Mike received a BSc with honors in Ecology and an MA in Society, Science, and Nature from The University of Lancaster in England as well as a Ph.D. Mike also specializes in science communication and providing education and technical support for ecology projects. He has over 20 years of experience in ecology research and professional practice in Britain and North America, with an emphasis on plants and biological diversity. Michael Simpson (Mike) is a Registered Professional Biologist in British Columbia, Canada. This article was co-authored by Michael Simpson, PhD.