Uses: Tool handles, fuel, fence posts.
Habitat: Dry wooded slopes; shaded woods.
Range: Massachusetts across to southern Ontario, south to eastern Texas, east to Florida.
Distinguishing Features: Mockernut Hickory is distinguished from all other Illinois hickories by its usually 7 or 9 hairy leaflets with hairy leafstalks and hairy twigs. The large fruits with the small seeds within, which may account for the common name, are also distinctive.
CHESTNUT
Castanea dentata (Marsh.) Borkh.
Growth Form: Large tree, formerly attaining a height of 100 feet; trunk diameter up to 3 feet; crown broadly rounded.
Bark: Dark brown, shallowly furrowed.
Twigs: Slender, reddish-brown, angular, glabrous or nearly so; leaf scars alternate, half-round, elevated, with several bundle traces.
Buds: Ovoid, pointed, up to ⅓ inch long, dark brown, smooth.