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Illustrated key of hickories |
main tree key back to simple-leaved tree key
(Modified from a text key to common trees of Radnor Lake by W.G. Eickmeier)
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Compare Carya (hickory) features
Compare Carya fruits (hickory nuts)
1. Leaflets mostly 11 or more (5 or more pairs plus
terminal), fruit with obvious wings:
top: wild fruit, bottom: cultivated fruit
1. Leaflets mostly 9 or fewer (4 pairs plus terminal),
fruit without wings or with less obvious wings: go to 2
2. Leaflets mostly 5 to 7 (2 or 3
pairs plus terminal): go to 3
2. Leaflets mostly 7 to 9 (3 or 4
pairs plus terminal): go to 5
3.
Bark thin ridged but not shaggy, fruit splitting only partially to base:
Carya
glabra
3.
Bark with large shaggy plates on medium to large trees, fruit husk easily
splitting to base when mature: go to 4
4. Terminal leaflets about 1/4 as wide as
long. Fruit often wider than long. Twigs slender. Common in
the vicinity of cedar glades:
Carya carolinae-septentrionalis (southern shagbark hickory)
Compare shagbark hickories.
Note: considered by some to be a subspecies of Carya ovata
4. Terminal leaflets about 1/3 to 1/2 as wide as long
(although possible hybrids may have narrower terminal leaflets). Fruit
about as wide as long. Twigs thick. Common on dry ridges and slopes:
Carya
ovata
5.
Buds yellow, bud scales not overlapping (see terminal bud):
Carya
cordiformis
5. Buds
not yellow, bud scales overlapping (see terminal bud): go to 6
6.
Bark on medium to large trees with large shaggy plates, leaflets velvety
below:
Carya
laciniosa (shellbark hickory or kingnut hickory)
Compare shagbark hickories.
6. Bark shallowly to deeply furrowed, but not with large
shaggy plates: go to 7
7. Leaflets without pubescence, bark
furrows deep:
Carya
ovalis (red hickory)
7. Leaflets with pubescence, bark furrows shallow:
Carya
tomentosa
