THE mockernut, or white hickory, is common on well-drained soils throughout the State. It is a tall, short-limbed tree often 60 feet high and 1 to 2 feet in diameter.
MOCKERNUT HICKORY
Leaf, one-fifth natural size. Twig, two-thirds natural size.
The bark is dark gray, hard, closely and deeply furrowed often apparently cross-furrowed or netted. The winter buds are large, round or broadly egg-shaped and covered with a downy growth.
The leaves are large, strong-scented and hairy, composed of 7 to 9 obovate to oblong, pointed leaflets which turn a beautiful yellow in the fall.
The flowers, like those of all other hickories, are of two kinds on the same tree; the staminate in three-branched catkins, the pistillate in clusters of 2 to 5. The fruit is oval, nearly round or slightly pear-shaped with a very thick, strong-scented husk which splits nearly to the base when ripe. The nut is of various forms, but sometimes 4 to 6 ridged, light brown, and has a very thick shell and small, sweet kernel.
The wood is heavy, hard, tough and strong; it is white excepting the comparatively small, dark-brown heart, hence the name white hickory. It is used for vehicle parts and handles. It furnishes the best of fuel. This and other hickories are very desirable both for forest and shade trees.
In the southern part of Illinois, the small fruited or sweet pignut, Carya ovalis Sargent, occurs on rich hillsides. The leaves have 7 leaflets on reddish-brown twigs, with small yellowish winter buds. The nut is an inch long, enclosed in a very thin hairy husk, the shell is thin and the kernel sweet.
