Wood: Heavy, hard, close-grained, dark brown.
Uses: Wood is used for tool handles and fuel; nuts are sold commercially because of their edible qualities.
Habitat: Rich bottomlands.
Range: Southwestern Pennsylvania and southern Michigan across to central Illinois and southern Iowa, south to northeastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, and eastern Tennessee; also in scattered areas of New York, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.
Distinguishing Features: The shaggy bark and large leaflets resemble those of the Shagbark Hickory, but the Kingnut Hickory has orange-dotted twigs and usually seven leaflets which lack minute tufts of hairs at the tip of each tooth.
SWEET PIGNUT HICKORY
Carya ovalis (Wang.) Sarg.
Other Names: False Shagbark Hickory; Small-fruited Hickory.
Growth Form: Medium to large tree up to 80 feet tall; trunk up to 2 feet in diameter; crown oblong or broadly rounded, with upright, spreading upper branches and drooping lower branches; trunk straight, columnar.
Bark: Gray, tight and rather smooth when young, usually peeling off into narrow plates at maturity.