Pignut Hickory

Carya glabra

Pignut Hickory 

The timber of the pignut hickory is strong and aromatic, making this Alabama native useful for both humans and wildlife in a variety of ways. From food and cooking, to warming homes, to making tools and sporting goods, this medium-sized tree packs a punch. Its timber is a good source of fuel, burning well and putting off a lot of heat. For this reason, it has often been used to heat houses. When burned, the wood produces a sweet maple-like smell, making it a popular choice for barbecue smokers. Pignut hickory wood is also used to make snow skis, ladders and tool handles (among other items), and was used by early settlers for broom handles and wagon wheels.  

The following identification information is from Trees of Alabama, a Gosse Nature Guide by Lisa J. Samuelson. Use of this text was permitted by the University of Alabama. Order your own copy of this great guide to Alabama’s trees here: https://www.amazon.com/Trees-Alabama-Gosse-Nature-Guides/dp/0817359419

Pignut Hickory Carya glabra (Mill.) Sweet  

COMMON NAMES pignut hickory, sweet pignut, smooth hickory, white hickory  

QUICK GUIDE Leaves alternate, pinnately compound, with five to seven leaflets, underside mostly glabrous, rachis glabrous; twigs slender and glabrous; fruit a nut, round or pear shaped, in a thin husk splitting halfway to the base; bark gray-brown with interlacing ridges forming a diamond pattern.  

DESCRIPTION Leaves are alternate, pinnately compound, deciduous, and up to 30 cm (11.8 in) long, with usually five (sometimes seven) leaflets. Leaflets are obovate to lanceolate or falcate, 8-15 cm (3.1-5.9 in) long, and sessile; margin is serrate; underside is glabrous or sparsely pubescent; rachis slender and glabrous; autumn color is yellow. Twigs are slender, red-brown, and glabrous, with lenticels; leaf scar is heart shaped with numerous bundle scars. The terminal bud is up to 1 cm (0.4 in) long and ovoid; outer scales are red-brown, loose, and glabrous; inner scales are paler with silky hairs. Flowers are imperfect and appear with the leaves in the spring; staminate flowers are in drooping catkins; pistillate flowers are in terminal spikes. Fruit is a nut, nearly round to egg or pear shaped (like a pig’s snout), 2.5-5.0 cm (1-2 in) long, and smooth, with a sweet kernel; husk is dark red-brown and thin and splits halfway to the base; fruit matures in the fall. Bark is smooth or lightly grooved on small trees; large trees are gray-brown and fissured with interlacing ridges farming a diamond pattern; bark becomes scaly on large trees. The growth form is up to 36 m (120 ft) in height and 1.2 m (4 ft) in diameter.  

HABITAT Upland forests.  

NOTES Forest associates of pignut hickory are numerous and include many upland oak, pine, and hickory species. The wood is white to red-brown, hard, and heavy, and is used for pulpwood, handles, furniture, flooring, novelty items, ladders, skis, and fuel. The wood is also used as smoker wood in barbeques. The nuts are eaten by white-tailed deer, wild turkey, squirrels, wood rats, chipmunk, bear, foxes, raccoon, crows, and woodpeckers.  

Carya is derived from a Greek word meaning “walnut tree”; glabra means “hairless” and refers to the mostly hairless twig and leaf.