Handbook of the Trees of New England Part 11

=Carya tomentosa, Nutt.=

_Hicoria alba, Britton._

MOCKERNUT. WHITE-HEART HICKORY. WALNUT.

Habitat and Range.--In various soils; woods, dry, rocky ridges, mountain slopes.

Niagara peninsula and westward.

Maine and Vermont,--not reported; New Hampshire,--sparingly along the coast; Ma.s.sachusetts,--rather common eastward; Rhode Island and Connecticut,--common.

South to Florida, ascending 3500 feet in Virginia; west to Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Indian territory, and Texas.

=Habit.=--A tall and rather slender tree, 50-70 feet high, with a diameter above the swell of the roots of 2-3 feet; attaining much greater dimensions south and west; trunk erect, not s.h.a.ggy, separating into a few rather large limbs and sending out its upper branches at a sharp angle, forming a handsome, wide-spreading, pyramidal head.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk dark gray, thick, hard, close, and rough, becoming narrow-rugged-furrowed; crinkly on small trunks and branches; leaf-scars prominent; season's shoots stout, brown, downy or dusty p.u.b.erulent, dotted, resinous-scented.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds large, yellowish-brown, ovate, downy.

Leaves pinnately compound, alternate, 15-20 inches long; rachis large, downy, swollen at the base; stipules none; leaflets 7-9, opposite, large, yellowish-green and smooth above, beneath paler and thick-downy, at least when young, turning to a clear yellow or russet brown in autumn, the three upper obovate, the two lower ovate, all the leaflets slightly serrate or entire, pointed, base acute to rounded, nearly sessile except the odd one. Aromatic when bruised.

=Inflorescence.=--May. Sterile and fertile flowers on the same tree, appearing when the leaves are fully grown,--sterile at the base of the season's shoots, in slender, pendulous, downy catkins, 4-8 inches long, usually in threes, branching umbel-like from a common peduncle; scales 3-lobed, hairy; calyx adnate; stamens 4 or 5, anthers red, bearded at the tip: fertile flowers on peduncles at the end of the season's shoots; calyx toothed, hairy, adherent to ovary; corolla none; stigmas 2, hairy.

=Fruit.=--October. Generally sessile on terminal peduncles, single or in pairs, as large or larger than the fruit of the s.h.a.gbark, or as small as that of the pignut, oblong-globose to globose: husk hard and thick, separating in 4 segments nearly to the base, strong-scented: nut globular, 4-ridged near the top, thick-sh.e.l.led: kernel usually small, sweet, edible. The superior size of the fruit and the smallness of the kernel probably give rise to the common name, "mockernut."

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; prefers a rich, well-drained soil, but grows well in rocky, ledgy, exposed situations, and is seldom disfigured by insect enemies. Young trees have large, deep roots, and are difficult to transplant successfully unless they have been frequently transplanted in nurseries, from which, however, they are seldom obtainable. Propagated from seed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE XXV.--Carya tomentosa.]

1. Winter buds.

2. Flowering branch.

3. Sterile flower, front view.

4. Sterile flower, side view.

5. Sterile flower, top view.

6. Fertile flower, side view.

7. Fruiting branch.

=Carya porcina, Nutt.=

_Hicoria glabra, Britton_.

PIGNUT. WHITE HICKORY.

=Habitat and Range.=--Woods, dry hills, and uplands.

Niagara peninsula and along Lake Erie.

Maine,--frequent in the southern corner of York county; New Hampshire,--common toward the coast and along the lower Merrimac valley; abundant on hills near the Connecticut river, but only occasional above Bellows Falls; Vermont,--Marsh Hill, Ferrisburgh (Brainerd); W.

Castleton and Pownal (Eggleston); Ma.s.sachusetts,--common eastward; along the Connecticut river valley and some of the tributary valleys more common than the s.h.a.gbark; Rhode Island and Connecticut,--common.

South to the Gulf of Mexico; west to Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Indian territory, and Texas.

=Habit.=--A stately tree, 50-65 feet high, reaching in the Ohio basin a height of 120 feet; trunk 2-5 feet in diameter, gradually tapering, surmounted by a large, oblong, open, rounded, or pyramidal head, often of great beauty.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk dark ash-gray, uniformly but very coa.r.s.ely roughened, in old trees smooth or broken into rough and occasionally projecting plates; branches gray; leaf-scars rather prominent; season's shoots smooth or nearly so, purplish changing to gray, with numerous dots.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Lateral buds smaller than in _C. tomentosa_, oblong, pointed; terminal, globular, with rounded apex; scales numerous, the inner reddish, lengthening to 1 or 2 inches, not dropping till after expansion of the leaves. Leaves pinnately compound, alternate, 10-18 inches long; petiole long and smooth; stipules none; leaflets 5-7, opposite, 2-5 inches long, yellowish-green above, paler beneath, turning to an orange brown in autumn, smooth on both sides; outline, the three upper obovate, the two lower oblong-lanceolate, all taper-pointed; base obtuse, sometimes acute, especially in the odd leaflet.

=Inflorescence.=--May. Sterile and fertile flowers on the same tree, appearing when the leaves are fully grown,--sterile at the base of the season's shoots, in pendulous, downy, slender catkins, 3-5 inches long, usually in threes, branching umbel-like from a common peduncle; scales 3-lobed, nearly glabrous, lobes of nearly equal length, pointed, the middle narrower; stamens mostly 4, anthers yellowish, beset with white hairs: fertile flowers at the ends of the season's shoots; calyx 4-toothed, p.u.b.escent, adherent to the ovary; corolla none; stigmas 2.

=Fruit.=--October. Single or in pairs, sessile on a short, terminal stalk, shape and size extremely variable, pear-shaped, oblong, round, or obovate, usually about 1-1/2 inches in diameter: husk thin, green turning to brown, when ripe parting in four sections to the center and sometimes nearly to the base: nut rather thick-sh.e.l.led, not ridged, not sharp-pointed: kernel much inferior in flavor to that of the s.h.a.gbark.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; grows in all well-drained soils, but prefers a deep, rich loam; a desirable tree for ornamental plantations, especially in lawns, as the deep roots do not interfere with the growth of gra.s.s above them; ill-adapted, like all the hickories, for streets, as the nuts are liable to cause trouble; less readily obtainable in nurseries than the sh.e.l.lbark hickory and equally difficult to transplant. Propagated from the seed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE XXVI.--Carya porcina.]

1. Winter buds.

2. Flowering branch.

3, 4. Sterile flower, back view.

5. Fertile flower, side view.

6. Fruiting branch.

=Carya amara, Nutt.=

_Hicoria minima, Britton_.

BITTERNUT. SWAMP HICKORY.

=Habitat and Range.=--In varying soils and situations; wet woods, low, damp fields, river valleys, along roadsides, occasional upon uplands and hill slopes.

From Montreal west to Georgian bay.

Maine,--southward, rare; New Hampshire,--eastern limit in the Connecticut valley, where it ranges farther north than any other of our hickories, reaching Well's river (Jessup); Vermont,--occasional west of the Green mountains and in the southern Connecticut valley; Ma.s.sachusetts,--rather common, abundant in the vicinity of Boston; Rhode Island and Connecticut,--common.

South to Florida, ascending 3500 feet in Virginia; west to Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Indian territory, and Texas.

=Habit.=--A tall, slender tree, 50-75 feet high and 1 foot-2-1/2 feet in diameter at the ground, reaching greater dimensions southward. The trunk, tapering gradually to the point of branching, develops a capacious, spreading head, usually widest near the top, with lively green, finely cut foliage of great beauty, turning to a rich orange in autumn. Easily recognized in winter by its flat, yellowish buds.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk gray, close, smooth, rarely flaking off in thin plates; branches and branchlets smooth; leaf-scars prominent; season's shoots yellow, smooth, yellow-dotted.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Terminal buds long, yellow, flattish, often scythe-shaped, pointed, with a granulated surface; lateral buds much smaller, often ovate or rounded, pointed. Leaves pinnately compound, alternate, 12-15 inches long; rachis somewhat enlarged at base; stipules none; leaflets 5-11, opposite, 5-6 inches long, 1-2 inches wide, bright green and smooth above, paler and smooth or somewhat downy beneath, turning to orange yellow in autumn; outline lanceolate, or narrowly oval to oblong-obovate, serrate; apex taper-pointed to scarcely acute; base obtuse or rounded except that of the terminal leaflet, which is acute; sessile and inequilateral, except in terminal leaflet, which has a short stem and is equal-sided; sometimes scarcely distinguishable from the leaves of _C. porcina_; often decreasing regularly in size from the upper to the lower pair.

=Inflorescence.=--May. Sterile and fertile flowers on the same tree, appearing when the leaves are fully grown,--sterile at the base of the season's shoots, or sometimes from the lateral buds of the preceding season, in slender, pendulous catkins, 3-4 inches long, usually in threes, branching umbel-like from a common peduncle; scale 3-lobed, hairy-glandular, middle lobe about the same length as the other two but narrower, considerably longer toward the end of the catkin; stamens mostly 5, anthers bearded at the tip: fertile flowers on peduncles at the end of the season's shoots; calyx 4-lobed, p.u.b.escent, adherent to the ovary; corolla none; stigmas 2.

=Fruit.=--October. Single or in twos or threes at the ends of the branchlets, abundant, usually rather small, about 1 inch long, the width greater than the length; occasionally larger and somewhat pear-shaped: husk separating about to the middle into four segments, with sutures prominently winged at the top or almost to the base, or nearly wingless: nut usually thin-sh.e.l.led: kernel white, sweetish at first, at length bitter.