Genus Hicoria, Raf., Carya, Nutt. (Hickory)

Leaves - compound (odd-feathered; leaflet, five to nine, usually seven) ; alternate, edge of leaflets sharp-toothed. Outline - of leaflets, usually long oval. Apex - taper-pointed. Base - of end leaflet, wedge-shaped, of the others more or less rounded or slightly pointed. Leaf/Stem - smooth. Leaf/Buds - egg-shape and pointed or rounded, and with their outer scales a polished-brown. Leaflet/Stems - lacking, except the smooth, very short stem of the end leaflet. Leaflets - mostly two to five inches long (the lower ones much the smallest), smooth above and below. Bark - not shaggy. Fruit - of two forms: (a) pear-shape, (b) rounded. Husks - very thin, splitting about half-way to the base. Nut - about one inch in diameter; in (b) somewhat flattened at the sides and slightly hollowed above, and with the apex a sharp point. Shell - rather thin, smooth, hard, and bluish-gray. Meat - small and sweetish or slightly bitter. Found - from Southern Maine westward and southward. General information - All the Hickories are picturesque trees. Their tendency, even when standing alone, is to grow high, and with heads that, instead of being round, are cylinder-shaped to the very top, with only enough breaks and irregularities to add to the effect. This tendency is more marked in the Hickories than in any other of the leaf-shedding trees of North America. They are worthy of the name sometimes given them of ‘the artist’s tree.” Hicoria, from a Greek word meaning round, in allusion to the shape of the nut.

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