This is the large tree that grows at the end of Buttrick Hall nearest Rand/Sarratt.
Bitternut hickory leaves typically have 7 to 9 leaves. Its yellow
buds differ from the reddish buds of red hickory (which also has leaves with 7 leaflets). The twigs are also more slender than the
twigs of mockernut hickory (
Carya tomentosa), another hickory with 7 leaflets, and which has much larger, non-yellow buds. The
bark is tight, unlike the shaggy
bark of kingnut hickory (
Carya laciniosa), which also typically has 7 (or 9) leaflets..
The husks of the
nuts have four wings, are relatively thin, and covered with yellow scales. The nuts are bitter and not good to eat. This particular tree has not been observed to produce nuts.
Bitternut hickory is fairly common in middle Tennessee. This is the only known bitternut hickory on Vanderbilt's campus.