pignut hickory Juglandaceae Carya glabra

Leaf:Alternate, pinnately compound, 8 to 12 inches long, with 5 (sometimes 7) leaflets, leaflets are lanceolate and serrate, rachis slender and glabrous, green above and paler below.
Flower:Species is monoecious; males are yellow-green, drooping catkins, with three hanging from one stalk, 2 to 3 inches long; females are very short and found in clusters at the end of the branches, both appear in spring.
Fruit:Obovoid to pear-shaped, 1 to 2 inches long, with a thin husk that only partially splits upon maturation; nut is not ribbed, fairly round but flattened, seed is somewhat bitter; ripening in early fall.
Twig:Moderately stout to slender (when compared to the other hickories) and glabrous; leaf scars are 3-lobed to cordate - best described as a "monkey face"; terminal bud is small (1/4 inch), ovate and light brown in color.
Bark:Initially smooth, and light gray, soon developing scaly ridges; the bark on older trees has obvious close interlacing shaggy-topped ridges.
Form:A medium sized to large tree capable of reaching over 100 feet tall, with a rounded crown and a straight trunk.

leaf flower fruit twig bark form map

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