PECAN (Leaf, one-sixth natural size; [fruit], one-third natural size)
The FLOWERS appear in early spring and hang in tassels from 2 to 3 inches long. The [FRUIT] is a [nut] 1 to 2 inches long, and ½ to 1 inch in diameter, in a thin husk which opens along its grooved seams when the fruit ripens in the fall. The nuts vary in size and thickness of shell. Cultivated varieties are sold on the market in large quantities.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, brittle, not strong, and of little value except for fuel and wagon stock. Some wood is satisfactory for making softball bats.
BITTERNUT HICKORY (Pignut)
Carya cordiformis (Wangenh.) K. Koch
Bitternut, the only hickory with bright yellow buds, is a tall slender tree with a broad [pyramidal] [crown], attaining a height of 100 feet and a diameter of 2 to 3 feet. It is found in the eastern part of the state on moist rich soils, and is not abundant.
The [BARK] on the trunk is granite-gray, faintly tinged with yellow, less rough than in most hickories, yet broken into thin, plate-like [scales].
BITTERNUT HICKORY (Twig, one-half natural size; leaf and [fruit], one-third natural size)
The bright yellow winter BUDS are compressed and [scurfy]. The LEAVES are [alternate], [compound], from 6 to 10 inches long, and composed of 5 to 11 [leaflets]. The individual leaflets are smaller and more slender than those of the other hickories.
The male and female FLOWERS are on the same tree. The [FRUIT] is about 1 inch long and thin-husked, while the [nut] has a thin, smoothish, gray, brittle shell. The kernel is bitter.