Tree highlight: pignut hickory
Pignut hickory
Carya glabra (Family Juglandaceae)
Golden yellow leaves of the pignut hickory
The basics
Pignut hickory is found throughout the eastern U.S., from southern Massachusetts south to central Florida and west to east Texas, reaching its greatest prevalence in the Appalachian region. Also known as ‘sweet pignut,’ ‘smoothbark hickory,’ or ‘swamp hickory,’ it grows on dry upland sites and moist mountain slopes and can reach a height of 80-90 feet. Pignut hickory features pinnately compound leaves 8-12 inches in length with 5-7 leaflets that are 3-6 inches long and turn golden yellow in the fall. The nuts are 1-3 inches, pear-shaped and mature in the fall. Pignut hickory bark is smooth on young trees and becomes ridged with age. The bark is tight to the trunk and doesn’t peel or slough off, unlike the closely related shagbark (C. ovata) and shellbark hickories (C. laciniosa).Did you know?
- The scientific name ‘glabra’ means ‘smooth,’ and refers to the hairless leaves and twigs.
- The common name ‘pignut’ arose because the nuts were often fed to pigs.
- Pignut hickory wood is valued for its strength.
- Pignut hickory has one of the broadest geographic ranges and is more tolerant to varying conditions than other hickories.
The nuts are 1-3 inches and matures in the fall
Pinnately compound leaves of the pignut hickory
Wildlife
- The pear-shaped nuts are bitter to the taste but are eaten by squirrels, chipmunks, deer, black bears, and other wildlife.
- Pignut hickory is a host plant for caterpillars of the banded hairstreak, the hickory horned devil, and the luna moth.
- Pignut hickory provides nesting habitat for birds and cover for forest mammals.
- Pignut hickory is part of the oak-hickory forests that are so common throughout Kentucky; they provide a dominant woodland ecosystem that houses and supports a variety of wildlife.
Uses
- Pignut hickory wood is prized for its strength and is commonly used in tool handles and other shock-absorbing applications. Its wood is also used in furniture, flooring, and for smoking meat.
- Pignut hickory helps stabilize dry slopes and is used in reforestation. Pignut hickory is also of ornamental value thanks to its bright fall foliage and stately form.
Pignut hickory bark becomes ridged with age
Benefits
Over a 20-year period, a healthy pignut hickory with a diameter of 15 inches will offset 5,121 car miles worth of CO2, absorb enough stormwater to fill 1,093 bathtubs, and remove an amount of pollution from the air – in gaseous and particulate form – equivalent in weight to 72 smartphones! Learn more at: https://mytree.itreetools.org/
Tree of the Week Video
By University of Kentucky Forestry and Natural Resources Extension
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