shellbark hickory Juglandaceae Carya laciniosa

Leaf:Alternate, pinnately compound with 5 to 9 (usually 7 leaflets), 15 to 24 inches long, each leaflet obovate to lanceolate, dark-green above, paler and tomentose below. The rachis is stout and may be tomentose.
Flower:Species is monoecious; males are 2 to 3 inches long, yellow-green catkins; females are short, in clusters at the end of the branches, appearing in mid-spring.
Fruit:Round, 2 to 2 1/2 inches long, extremely thick husk (up to 1/2 inch), nut is 4-ribbed (maybe 6), maturing in early fall.
Twig:Stout, yellowish brown, usually glabrous, numerous lenticels, leaf scar three-lobed; terminal bud elongated (larger than shagbark) with numerous persistent, brown scales.
Bark:Initially smooth and gray with shallow interlacing ridges, later developing long, loose plates, resulting in a shaggy appearance.
Form:A large tree 80 to 100 feet tall, with a straight trunk and a narrow crown.

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