Hickory Tree ID: Leaflets, Buds, Bark and Nut Husks

A hickory is an alternate-branched tree with compound leaves, solid pith and a husked nut. The Missouri Department of Conservation describes hickory leaves as alternate and feather-compound with 5 to 13 unlobed leaflets, turning golden yellow in fall, and notes that the pith of the twigs is solid and uniform, unlike that of walnuts.

• Branching — staggered along the twig, not paired. Paired branches mean ash or boxelder instead.
• Leaf — one long compound leaf. Michigan State University Extension notes that on shagbark hickory the three leaflets at the end are larger than the others.
• Pith — cut a twig lengthwise. Solid pith is hickory; pith divided into small chambers is walnut.
• Fruit — Michigan State describes hard-shelled light brown nuts in a green husk that splits into four parts. Old husks often lie under the tree for months.

Vanderbilt University's hickory key starts with the leaflet count and then uses bark, buds and fruit:

• 11 or more leaflets, fruit with obvious wings — pecan
• 5 to 7 leaflets, bark thin-ridged and not shaggy, husk splitting only partly — pignut hickory
• 5 to 7 leaflets, bark in large shaggy plates, husk splitting to the base — shagbark hickory (terminal leaflet about a third to half as wide as long, thick twigs) or southern shagbark (terminal leaflet about a quarter as wide as long, slender twigs)
• 7 to 9 leaflets, yellow buds with scales that do not overlap — bitternut hickory
• 7 to 9 leaflets, shaggy plates, leaflets velvety beneath — shellbark hickory
• 7 to 9 leaflets, furrowed bark, hairless leaflets with deep furrows — red hickory; hairy leaflets with shallow furrows — mockernut hickory

Count several leaves before deciding. Sources disagree at the edges: Missouri Department of Conservation gives mockernut 5 to 7 leaflets, while Vanderbilt's key places it in the 7-to-9 group. A single leaf can mislead; the typical count on the tree is what the keys mean.

The trees most often confused with hickory each fail one of the four checks:

• Oak — Missouri Department of Conservation describes oak leaves as occurring singly on alternate sides of the twig, and the fruit is an acorn rather than a husked nut. Each oak leaf is a single blade, where a hickory leaf is a row of leaflets on one stalk. In Missouri about three-fourths of forest trees are either an oak or a hickory, so this pair comes up constantly.
• Ash — also compound-leaved, but opposite-branched. Michigan State gives ash 5 to 9 leaflets.
• Black walnut — alternate and compound like hickory, but Michigan State lists 9 to 15 leaflets, leaves 15 to 24 inches long, a turpentine-like smell from crushed leaflets and stems, and chambered pith.

Hickory nuts are food, but most species are hard work. The Missouri Department of Conservation describes shagbark nuts as large, sweet and easy to crack, and shellbark as producing the best-tasting hickory nuts in the state. Mockernut, by contrast, has thick shells around relatively small kernels, and bitternut, as the name says, tastes bitter. Squirrels, turkeys and ducks eat them all.

Before eating any nut you collected, be certain of the tree: confirm it with the checks above and, if you are unsure, with your county extension office. If someone swallows a nut or seed you cannot identify, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 in the US.

Hickory wood is valued for strength rather than rarity. The Wood Database records shagbark hickory at a Janka hardness of 1,880 lbf and says hickory is on average denser, stiffer and harder than either white oak or hard maple, which is why it goes into tool handles, ladder rungs and flooring. The Missouri Department of Conservation adds furniture, lumber and barbecue smoking. The Wood Database also notes that hickory species are usually sold mixed together as "hickory", with prices usually in the low to mid range and comparable to red oak or soft maple.

What a particular standing tree is worth depends on its size, quality and local market. Penn State Extension's advice to landowners is that timber should never be sold without an independent estimate of its worth, and that the estimate should not come from the buyer; a consulting forester can also collect competing bids.