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Shellbark hickory | |
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Leaves and bark | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fagales |
Family: | Juglandaceae |
Genus: | Carya |
Section: | Carya sect. Carya |
Species: | C. laciniosa |
Binomial name | |
Carya laciniosa | |
Natural range |
Carya laciniosa, the shellbark hickory, in the Juglandaceae or walnut family is also called kingnut, big, bottom, thick, or western shellbark, attesting to some of its characteristics. It is a slow-growing, long-lived tree, hard to transplant because of its long taproot, and subject to insect damage. The nuts, largest of all hickory nuts, are sweet and edible. Wildlife and people harvest most of them; those remaining produce seedling trees readily. The wood is hard, heavy, strong, and very flexible, making it a favored wood for tool handles. A specimen tree has been reported in Missouri with 117 cm (46 in) diameter at breast height, 36.9 m (121 ft 1 in) tall, and a spread of 22.6 m (74 ft 2 in).
Shellbark hickory is widely distributed, but is nowhere common. The range extends from western New York through southern Michigan to southeast Iowa, south through eastern Kansas into northern Oklahoma, and eastward through Tennessee into Pennsylvania. This species is most prominent in the lower Ohio River region and south along the Mississippi River to central Arkansas. It is frequently found in the great river swamps of central Missouri and the Wabash River region in Indiana and Ohio. It's also found scattered in the Hudson valley in New York state
In part due to the activities of humans, shellbark hickory has become rare in its natural range. The heavy seeds do not travel far from the parent tree and many stands have been lost to forest clearing and lumber harvesting. It is also not planted much as an ornamental due to its slow growth and difficulty of transplanting.
The mean length of the frost-free period within the range of shellbark hickory is from 150 to 210 days. The average January temperature is between −4 and 5 °C (25 and 41 °F), and for July the mean temperature is from 23 to 27 °C (73 to 81 °F). An average minimum temperature of −26 °C (−15 °F) occurs in the northern part of the range, and an average maximum temperature of 38 °C (100 °F) is found throughout the range. Precipitation varies between 750 and 1,500 mm (30 and 59 in) per year including 15 to 90 cm (5.9 to 35.4 in) of snow.
Shellbark hickory grows best on deep, fertile, moist soils, most typical of the order Alfisols. It does not thrive in heavy clay soils, but grows well on heavy loams or silt loams. Shellbark hickory requires moister situations than do pignut, mockernut, or shagbark hickories (Carya glabra, C. alba, or C. ovata), although it is sometimes found on dry, sandy soils. Specific nutrient requirements are not known, but generally the hickories grow best on neutral or slightly alkaline soils.
The species is essentially a bottomland species and is often found on river terraces and second bottoms. Land subject to shallow inundations for a few weeks early in the growing season is favorable for shellbark. However, the tree will grow on a wide range of topographic and physiographic sites.
Shellbark hickory may be found in pure groups of several trees but is more frequent singly in association with other hardwoods. The species is a minor component of the forest cover types bur oak (Society of American Foresters type 42), pin oak–sweetgum (type 65), and swamp chestnut oak–cherrybark oak (type 91). It may also be found in one or more of the types in which hickories are included, but it is not identified at the species level.
Shellbark hickory commonly grows in association with American elm (Ulmus americana), slippery (U. rubra), and winged elms (U. alata), white (Fraxinus americana) and green ash (F. pennsylvanica), basswood (Tilia americana), American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), red maple (Acer rubrum), blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), and cottonwood (Populus deltoides). It is found in association with four other hickories–shagbark, mockernut, bitternut (Carya cordiformis), and water (C. aquatica), and numerous oak species, including swamp white (Quercus bicolor), pin (Q. palustris), white (Q. alba), Shumard (Q. shumardii), water (Q. nigra), Delta post (Q. stellata var. paludosa), swamp chestnut (Q. michauxii), and Nuttall (Q. nuttallii).
The herbaceous stratum includes numerous sedges and grasses. The shrub and small tree layer may be composed of painted buckeye ( Aesculus sylvatica ), pawpaw ( Asimina triloba ), flowering dogwood ( Cornus florida ), eastern redbud ( Cercis canadensis ), possumhaw ( Ilex decidua ), poison ivy ( Toxicodendron radicans ), and trumpet-creeper ( Campsis radicans ).
Growth and yield: The hickories as a group grow slowly in diameter, and shellbark hickory is no exception. Sapling size trees average 2 mm (3⁄32 in) per year in diameter growth, increasing to 3 mm (1⁄8 in) per year as poles and sawtimber. Second-growth trees show growth rates of 5 mm (3⁄16 in) per year. Shellbark hickory occasionally grows to a height of 40 m (130 ft) and a diameter of 100 centimetres (39 in).
Rooting habit: Shellbark hickory develops a large taproot that penetrates deeply into the soil. Lateral roots emerge at nearly right angles to the taproot, spreading horizontally through the soil. Major distinct lateral roots usually develop 12 inches or more below ground level and appear only after taproot is well formed. In Illinois, root growth was rapid in April, slowed during July and August, increased again in September, and ended in late November.
Mycorrhizal associations are formed when trees are young. The only specific fungus identified from shellbark hickory roots is an ectotrophic mycorrhiza, Laccaria ochropurpurea .
Reaction to competition: Shellbark hickory is very shade-tolerant, exceeded only by sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and beech (Fagus grandifolia). It grows slowly under a dense canopy, however. In stands with only partial shade, it reproduces well. It is a very strong competitor in most of the species associations in which it is found.
Under forest conditions, shellbark hickory often develops a clear bole for half its length and has a narrow, oblong crown. Open-grown trees have egg-shaped crowns. [2] Heavy release sometimes results in epicormic branching.
On mature trees, the bark peels away from the trunk in long, sometimes broad, strips. This gives the trees a “shaggy” appearance that is easily confused with that of the Shagbark hickory ( Carya ovata ). That close similarity is the reason Shellbark hickories are frequently misidentified. A closer examination of other traits is usually needed to distinguish the two species.
Damaging agents: Although numerous insects and diseases affect hickories, shellbark hickory has no enemies that seriously threaten its development or perpetuation as a species. Seed production can be reduced significantly, however, through attack by several insects. Two of the most important are the pecan weevil ( Curculio caryae ) and the hickory shuckworm ( Laspeyresia caryana ).
The hickory bark beetle ( Scolytus quadrispinosus ) feeds in the cambium and seriously weakens or even kills some trees. Adults of the hickory spiral borer ( Agrilus arcuatus torquatus) feed on leaves, but the larvae feed beneath the bark and can be very destructive to hickory seedlings. The flatheaded appletree borer ( Chrysobothris femorata ) likewise is a foliage-feeder as an adult, but its larvae feed on the phloem and outer sapwood.
The living-hickory borer ( Goes pulcher ) feeds in the trunks and branches of trees. A twig girdler ( Oncideres cingulata ) can seriously affect reproduction by killing back the tops of seedlings and sprouts. Both standing dead trees and freshly cut logs are highly susceptible to attacks by numerous species of wood borers.
A large number of insect species feed on hickory foliage. None of them causes serious problems for shellbark hickory, although they may be responsible for some stem deformity and growth loss. [3]
Shellbark hickory is free of serious diseases, but it is a host species for a variety of fungi. More than 130 fungi have been identified from species of Carya. These include leaf disease, stem canker, wood rot, and root rot-causing fungi. Specific information for shellbark hickory is not available. [4]
Shellbark hickory is susceptible to bole injury from fire, and fire injuries are often invaded by wood rot fungi. It is resistant to snow and ice damage, but is susceptible to frost damage.
The seeds within shellbark hickory nuts are edible [5] and consumed by ducks, quail, wild turkeys, squirrels, chipmunks, deer, foxes, raccoons, and white-footed mice. A few plantations of shellbark hickory have been established for nut production, but the nuts are difficult to crack, though the kernel is sweet. The wood is used for furniture, tool handles, sporting goods, veneer, fuelwood, charcoal, and drum sticks.
Shellbark hickory hybridizes with the pecan, Carya illinoensis (C. x nussbaumeri Sarg.), and shagbark hickory, C. ovata (C. x dunbarii Sarg.). Shellbark hickory has 32 chromosomes. In general, species within the genus with the same chromosome number are able to cross. Numerous hybrids among the Carya species with 32 chromosomes (pecan, bitternut, shellbark, and shagbark) have been described.
Quercus palustris, also called pin oak, swamp oak, or Spanish oak, is a tree in the red oak section of the genus Quercus. Pin oak is one of the most commonly used landscaping oaks in its native range due to its ease of transplant, relatively fast growth, and pollution tolerance.
Quercus muehlenbergii, the chinquapinoak, is a deciduous species of tree in the white oak group. The species was often called Quercus acuminata in older literature. Quercus muehlenbergii is native to eastern and central North America. It ranges from Vermont to Minnesota, south to the Florida panhandle, and west to New Mexico in the United States. In Canada it is only found in southern Ontario, and in Mexico it ranges from Coahuila south to Hidalgo.
Quercus velutina, the black oak, is a species of oak in the red oak group, native and widespread in eastern and central North America. It is sometimes called the eastern black oak.
The pecan is a species of hickory native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River.
Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus Carya, which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mexico, and two to four are native to Canada. A number of hickory species are used for their edible nuts, lumber or other wood and woodcraft products.
Carya ovata, the shagbark hickory, is a common hickory in the Eastern United States and southeast Canada. It is a large, deciduous tree, growing well over 100 ft (30 m) tall, and can live more than 350 years. The tallest measured shagbark, located in Savage Gulf, Tennessee, is over 150 ft (46 m) tall. Mature shagbarks are easy to recognize because, as their name implies, they have shaggy bark. This characteristic is, however, only found on mature trees; young specimens have smooth bark.
Carya cordiformis, the bitternut hickory, also called bitternut, yellowbud hickory, or swamp hickory, is a large pecan hickory with commercial stands located mostly north of the other pecan hickories. Bitternut hickory is cut and sold in mixture with the true hickories. It is the shortest-lived of the hickories, living to about 200 years.
The Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests is an ecoregion of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund. It consists of mesophytic plants west of the Appalachian Mountains in the Southeastern United States.
Carya glabra, the pignut hickory, is a common, but not abundant species of hickory in the oak-hickory forest association in the Eastern United States and Canada. Other common names are pignut, sweet pignut, coast pignut hickory, smoothbark hickory, swamp hickory, and broom hickory. The pear-shaped nut ripens in September and October, has a sweet maple like smell, and is an important part of the diet of many wild animals. The wood is used for a variety of products, including fuel for home heating. Its leaves turn yellow in the Fall.
Spitler Woods State Natural Area is a 202.5-acre (81.9 ha) state park located adjacent to Mount Zion, Illinois. The state park is located within the Decatur, Illinois metropolitan area. The eastern two-thirds of the state park is a listed state natural area noted for its old-growth forest grove of white oak and hickory. The park is managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).
Forest farming is the cultivation of high-value specialty crops under a forest canopy that is intentionally modified or maintained to provide shade levels and habitat that favor growth and enhance production levels. Forest farming encompasses a range of cultivated systems from introducing plants into the understory of a timber stand to modifying forest stands to enhance the marketability and sustainable production of existing plants.
Carya tomentosa, commonly known as mockernut hickory, mockernut, white hickory, whiteheart hickory, hognut, bullnut, is a species of tree in the walnut family Juglandaceae. The most abundant of the hickories, and common in the eastern half of the United States, it is long lived, sometimes reaching the age of 500 years. A straight-growing hickory, a high percentage of its wood is used for products where strength, hardness, and flexibility are needed. The wood makes excellent fuel wood, as well. The leaves turn yellow in Autumn.
Carya aquatica, the bitter pecan or water hickory, is a large tree, that can grow over 30 metres (98 ft) tall of the Juglandaceae or walnut family. In the American South it is a dominant plant species found on clay flats and backwater areas near streams and rivers. The species reproduces aggressively both by seed and sprouts from roots and from stumps of cut trees. Water hickory is a major component of wetland forests now in the south eastern US, because of the selective cutting of more desirable tree species for the lumber industry. It is considered important in cleansing drainage waters since the plants slow water flow during flooding, allowing sediments to fall out of the water column. This tree species is tolerant of wet soils but grows best on well draining soils near rivers and other water ways.
Carya myristiciformis, the nutmeg hickory, a tree of the Juglandaceae or walnut family, also called swamp hickory or bitter water hickory, is found as small, possibly relict populations across the Southern United States and in northern Mexico on rich moist soils of higher bottom lands and stream banks. Little is known of the growth rate of nutmeg hickory. Logs and lumber are sold mixed with other hickories. The nuts are an oil-rich food for wildlife.
Oak–hickory forest is a type of North American forest ecosystem, and an ecoregion of the Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Biome.
The pecan weevil, Curculio caryae is an obligate feeder on the nuts of North American hickories and pecans, most widely recognized as an economically important pest of the pecan, Carya illinoinensis. It has also been observed to infest one Juglans species, the Persian walnut, Juglans regia.
The Southern Ridge and Valley / Cumberland dry calcareous forest is a forest system found in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia.
An oak woodland is a plant community with a tree canopy dominated by oaks. In terms of canopy closure, oak woodlands are intermediate between oak savanna, which is more open, and oak forest, which is more closed. Although the community is named for the dominance of oak trees, the understory vegetation is often diverse and includes many species of grasses, sedges, forbs, ferns, shrubs, and other plants.
Carya pallida, sand hickory, or pale hickory is a species of hickory native to the southeastern United States. It is a perennial, dicotyledonous plant which prefers rocky or sandy habitats. The sand hickory can reach heights of up to 30m, but its typical height is between 9-24m. In an open area, Carya crowns are usually towering and slim. The sand hickory nut is edible and consumed by various organisms.
This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government