Trees of Indiana Part 6

Thrifty trees of any size in the woodland are now rarely seen. The tops of the larger trees are usually found in a more or less dying condition.

Benedict and Elrod[13] as early as 1892 make the following observation in a catalogue of the plants of Ca.s.s and Wabash Counties: "A few scrubby, half dead trees were seen, the last of their race. It seems unable to adapt itself to new conditions, and is rapidly dying out."

=Remarks.=--This tree is often called the white walnut to distinguish it from the black walnut from which it is easily separated. It is too rare in Indiana to be of economic importance, except that trees growing in the open are spared for the nut crop. Trees growing in the open develop a short trunk with a wide spreading top and are apparently much healthier than when grown under forest conditions. The bark of the root is used in medicine as a hepatic stimulant.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate 20.

JUGLANS CINEREA Linnaeus. b.u.t.ternut. ( 1/2.)]

=2.= =Juglans ngra= Linnaeus. Walnut. Plate 21. One of the largest and most valuable trees of the Indiana forest. Leaf-scars with the upper margin notched; leaves 3-7 dm. long, mature leaves glabrous above and p.u.b.escent beneath, leaflets, usually 11-23, almost sessile, ovate-lanceolate, 4-10 cm. long, finely serrate, long-pointed at apex; flowers in May or June; fruit ripens the first year, in September and October, globose to oblong, 5-8 cm. in diameter; nut variable, from subglobose to ovoid or elliptical, more or less rounded or pointed at the ends, 1.5-3.5 cm. through the widest diameter; kernel edible; wood heavy, hard, strong, rather coa.r.s.e, heart wood dark brown, durable, works easily and takes a high polish.

=Distribution.=--Ontario south to the Gulf States and west to Texas and Nebraska. It was more or less frequent to common in all parts of Indiana in well drained rich soils.

=Remarks.=--This tree is frequently called black walnut. On account of the many excellent qualities of the wood, the walnut has been a choice timber tree from pioneer days to the present. It served the pioneer for rails, and in his buildings for sleepers, rafters, interior finish, furniture, etc. It soon sprung into commercial importance, and has been used for almost everything for which wood is used. Indiana and Ohio have furnished the greatest amount of walnut. The supply of lumber from old forest-grown trees has become so scarce that it is sought in old buildings, rail fences, old stumps and old furniture has been worked over. That the demand for walnut timber will not cease is a.s.sured; this should encourage land owners to grow this tree. It is adapted to a moist, rich, deep soil and will do well in such a habitat in all parts of the State. Where such land is set aside for forestry purposes, no better tree could be used for planting. Since the tree develops a long tap root which makes it difficult to transplant, it is recommended that the nuts be stratified in the fall, and the germinated nuts be planted in April or May. The foliage of the walnut is often attacked by the "tent caterpillar" which can be easily destroyed by burning about sun down when the larvae collect in a bunch on or near the trunk of the tree.

Since the nut of the walnut is of considerable commercial value, it is recommended that the walnut be planted along fences, about orchards and as one of the species in windbreaks.

=2. CaRYA.= The Hickories.

Trees with hard, tight or scaly bark; leaflets alternate, odd-pinnate, glandular-dotted beneath; leaflets serrate, usually unequal at the base, the lateral sessile or nearly so, the terminal short-stalked, the lowest pair the smallest, upper pair and terminal the largest, bruised leaflets characteristically aromatic; staminate flowers in slender catkins, anthers hairy; pistillate flowers in small cl.u.s.ters; fruit a bony nut contained in a woody husk which separates more or less completely from the nut into four parts.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate 21.

JUGLANS NIGRA Linnaeus. Black Walnut. ( 1/2.)]

There are now recognized[14] fifteen species and several varieties of hickory, all of which grow in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. Hickory grows in no other place in the world, except one species in northern Mexico. The wood of the different species of hickory is not of equal commercial value, but the wood of the commercial species heads the list of Indiana woods for strength, toughness and resiliency.

The individuals of the several species vary much in respect to their bark, size and p.u.b.escence of the twigs, number and size of the leaflets, size and shape of the nuts. No attempt will be made to deal with all of the extreme forms, and only those reported by Heimlich[15] and Sargent[16] will be discussed.

Bud scales 4-6, valvate (in pairs), leaflets generally curved backward.

Leaflets 9-17, generally about 13; nut elongated, circular in cross-section; kernel sweet 1 C. illinoensis.

Leaflets 5-9, generally 5-7; nut about as broad as long, compressed in cross-section; kernel bitter 2 C. cordiformis.

Bud scales more than 6, imbricated (not in pairs); leaflets not curved backward.

Branchlets usually stout; terminal buds large, 7-25 mm.

long; the year's growth usually more or less hairy; dry husks 4-10 mm. thick.

Prevailing number of leaflets 5 3 C. ovata.

Prevailing number of leaflets more than 5.

Trees of low ground; bark of young trees tight and light, of older trees scaly, separating into long thin plates; branchlets usually light orange color; nuts usually large, compressed, 3-6 cm. long, pointed at base 4 C. laciniosa.

Trees of high ground; bark of young trees tight and dark, of older trees tight and deeply furrowed, the thick ridges broken into short lengths which on very old trees loosen at the base; branchlets reddish-brown; nuts usually about half as large as the preceding and usually with a rounded base 5 C. alba.

Branchlets usually slender; terminal buds small, 5-12 mm. long; the year's growth usually glabrous, rarely hairy; dried husk 1-2.5 mm. thick.

Branchlets and leaves not covered when they first appear with rusty-brown p.u.b.escence.

Prevailing number of leaflets 5; fruit usually smooth and tapering at base to a short stem (fig-like); sh.e.l.l of nut thick, kernel sweet and astringent 6 C. glabra.

Prevailing number of leaflets generally 7; fruit usually granular, rarely tapering at the base to a short stem (fig-like); sh.e.l.l of nut thin, kernel sweet without astringency 7 C. ovalis.

Branchlets and leaves densely covered when they first appear with rusty-brown p.u.b.escence 8 C. Buckleyi.

=1.= =Carya illinoensis= (w.a.n.genheim) K. Koch. Pecan. Plate 22. Very tall slender trees up to 15 dm. in diameter; bark tight, sometimes becoming scaly on very old trees, fissured, ridges narrow, ashy-brown tinged with red; twigs at first hairy, becoming smooth or nearly so and reddish-brown by the end of the season; leaves 3-5 dm. long; leaflets 9-17, ovate to oblong-lanceolate, somewhat curved backward, 7-15 cm.

long, taper-pointed, hairy when they unfold, becoming at maturity smooth or nearly so, dark green above, and a yellow-green beneath; cl.u.s.ters of staminate catkins sessile; fruit single or in small cl.u.s.ters, oblong 3.5-6 cm. long, the winged sutures extending to the base, the husk splitting to below the middle; nut ovoid-oblong, reddish-brown; wood heavy, hard and not strong.

=Distribution.=--In the Mississippi Valley from Indiana and Iowa south to Texas. In Indiana it was a native of the southwest part of the State.

It was a common tree in the river bottoms of Point Township of Posey County, and in the bottoms of the southwest part of Gibson County. It was found more or less frequently in the bottoms of the Wabash Valley, as far north as to within four miles of Covington where the author collected specimens in 1918. It followed the bottoms of the Ohio River east at least as far as Clark County. Michaux[17] gives it as rare in the vicinity of Louisville. Victor Lyons of Jeffersonville says that it was a native to the east part of Survey 29 of the Illinois Grant, and one tree in the northwest corner of No. 32; and there were nine trees 9-10 dm. in diameter in Floyd County on "Loop Island". A large tree grew in the bottoms near Bethlehem in Clark County, which is said to have been a native.

Young[18] says that there are two trees in Jefferson County, one planted, the other probably native. Coulter[19] says "there are several trees in the river bottoms."

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate 22.

CARYA ILLINOENSIS (w.a.n.genheim) K. Koch. Pecan. ( 1/2.)

The two nuts to right are from the McCallister hybrid pecan tree.]

There are several trees on the Elisha Golay farm about one mile east of Vevay which are in rows, which show that they were planted. The largest has a trunk 2.2 m. long and a circ.u.mference of 31 dm. It followed the north fork of White River as far as Greene County, and the south fork of White River as far as Seymour. A pioneer told me he remembered a small colony in the eastern part of Washington County in the bottoms near the Muscatatuck River. In Indiana it is found only in very low land which is subject to overflow.

=Remarks.=--So far as the wood is concerned, the pecan is the poorest of all hickories. It has only about one-half the strength and stiffness of the sh.e.l.lbark hickory. Although the wood is inferior, the pecan has the distinction of producing the best nut of any native tree of America. The pecan was well known to the Indians, and some authors say the range of the species was extended by planting by the Indians. It has been a nut of commerce ever since the area of its range has been settled. It was planted by the pioneers, and recently nurserymen took up the subject of growing stock by budding and grafting from superior trees. At present there are about 100 horticultural varieties. The horticulturist has developed forms twice the size of the native nuts, and with sh.e.l.ls so thin as to be styled "paper-sh.e.l.led." The pecan has been extensively planted for commercial purposes in the southern states, but information obtained from owners of pecan trees in Indiana indicate that the winters are too severe for profitable pecan culture in Indiana. During the winter of 1917-18 the whole of a tract of 13 year old pecan trees on the Forest Reserve in Clark County was killed back to the ground. In n.o.ble County about one mile south of Wolf Lake is a tree planted about 50 years ago that is about 9 dm. in circ.u.mference that frequently sets nuts but they never mature on account of the early frosts.

=2.= =Carya cordiformis= (w.a.n.genheim) K. Koch. Pignut Hickory. Plate 23.

Large tall trees with tight bark, usually a light gray, sometimes darker, fissures shallow and very irregular; twigs at first green, somewhat hairy, soon becoming smooth or nearly so, and a yellowish-brown, or reddish-brown by the end of the season; leaves and leaflets variable, the prevailing type of trees have smaller leaves with long and narrow leaflets, the unusual form has larger leaves up to 4 dm.

in length with terminal leaflets up to 2 dm. in length and 8.5 cm. in width, and the last pair almost as large; fruit subglobose or rarely oblong, 2-3.5 cm. long; wings of sutures extending to below the middle, rarely one reaching the base; husk about 1.5 mm. thick, tardily separating to about the middle; nut ovoid or oblong, slightly flattened laterally, often as wide or wider than long, depressed, obcordate, with a short or long point at the apex, ovoid or rounded at the base, smooth or rarely with four distinct ridges; sh.e.l.l very thin and brittle; kernel very bitter; wood heavy, very hard, strong, tough and close-grained. It has about 92 per cent of the strength and about 73 per cent of the stiffness of sh.e.l.lbark hickory.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate 23.

CARYA CORDIFORMIS (w.a.n.genheim) K. Koch. Pignut Hickory. ( 1/2.)

The nuts are from different trees to show variation.]

=Distribution.=--Valley of the St. Lawrence River west to Nebraska and south to the Gulf States. In Indiana a map distribution of the species in the State shows that it has been found in practically all of the counties on the west, north and east borders. It is usually found in rich soil along streams and in rich woods, and may be found in all of the counties of the State. Despite the fact that no animal agency was active against the propagation of this tree, it was rarely found more than as an infrequent tree throughout our range.

=Remarks.=--The hickories as a cla.s.s, except the pecan, can not stand "civilization," especially much tramping about the base. It appears that the pignut hickory is the most easily affected. In Parke County about c.o.xville great numbers of the trees have been killed by the borers. For the uses of the wood see sh.e.l.lbark hickory. Since this species does not produce as much marketable lumber as the sh.e.l.lbark hickory, and the nuts are valueless, it should not be recommended for planting in the farmer's woodlot. The rossed bark of this species is preferred by manufacturers of split-bottomed chairs, and is known by them as "yellow-bud" hickory.

=3.= =Carya ovata= (Miller) K. Koch. Sh.e.l.lbark Hickory. Plate 24. Large and very tall trees; bark of young trees tight, beginning to scale when the trees reach 1-2 dm. in diameter, separating into long thin strips on old trees; twigs at the end of the season usually stout, 3-5 mm. in diameter near the tip, but some are slender and as small as 2.5 mm. in diameter, at first covered with hairs, becoming smooth at the end of the season or remaining hairy, reddish-brown; winter buds hairy, the terminal one on vigorous shoots long-ovoid, outer scales sharp-pointed; ordinary leaves 2-4 dm. long; leaflets 3-5, the lateral sessile or nearly so, the terminal one on a stalk about 1 dm. long, up to 10 cm.

wide and 22 cm. long, leaflets variable in shape from ovate to oval, oblong-oval or obovate, all long taper-pointed, hairy beneath when they unfold and remaining hairy until maturity or sometimes becoming almost glabrous; fruit variable in size, 3-6 cm. long, usually subglobose, furrowed along the sutures at least near the outer end; husk freely splitting to the base, except one tree which was noted where the husk remains on the nut, rarely opening for only a short distance at the apex, very variable in thickness from 4-10 mm.; nut exceedingly variable, compressed, 4-angled, the angles generally visible to the base, 2-3 cm. long, more or less pointed, rarely rounded at the base or obcordate at the apex, generally ovate to oval in outline, some almost freakish in shape; sh.e.l.l generally thin; kernel sweet; wood heavy, very hard and strong, close-grained, light brown, sap wood white and thin on old trees.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate 24.

CARYA OVATA (Miller) K. Koch. Sh.e.l.lbark Hickory. ( 1/2.)

The nuts are from different trees to show variation.]