Commercial value: The wood is similar to that of the shagbark hickory and is put to the same uses.
Other characters: The fruit is a nut, larger and covered with a shell thicker than that of the shagbark. The husk is also thicker and separates into four segments nearly to the base. The kernel is small and sweet.
Other common names: Bigbud hickory; whiteheart hickory.
Comparisons: The pignut hickory (Hicoria glabra), sometimes called broom hickory or brown hickory, often has a shaggy bark, but differs from both the shagbark and the mockernut hickory in possessing buds very much smaller, twigs more slender and leaflets fewer. The nut has a thinner husk which does not separate into four or five segments. The tree prefers drier ground than the other hickories.
Fig. 69.—Bud of the Mockernut Hickory.
The bitternut (Hicoria minima) can be told from the mockernut and other species of hickory by its bud, which has no scales at all. The color of its bud is a characteristic orange yellow. The bark is of a lighter shade than the bark of the mockernut hickory and the leaflets are more numerous than in any of the hickories, varying from 7 to 11. Its nuts are bitter.
Black Walnut (Juglans nigra)
Distinguishing characters: By cutting a twig lengthwise, it will be seen that its pith is divided into little chambers as shown in Fig. 71. The bud is dark gray and satiny. The bark is dark brown and deeply ridged and the fruit is the familiar round walnut.