Bitternut hickory

Leaves

Form

• 7–11 leaflets on a central stalk
• Terminal leaflet seldom larger than the uppermost lateral pair
• Leaflets long-pointed
• Narrow, scythe-shaped
• Lower surface hairy

Length

• Leaf and central stalk 12–20 cm

Colour

• Upper surface shiny dark green
• Lower surface paler and dotted

Margin

• Finely toothed

Buds

Form

• Terminal bud present, slender
• Tapering, flattened, granular
• 2–4 scales
• Edges meet but do not overlap
• Lateral buds smaller than terminal
• Angular, often stalked
• Usually more than 1 bud above a leaf scar
• Leaf scars small, oval to 3-lobed, slightly raised
• Bud scales enlarge markedly as the new shoot emerges

Length

• Terminal bud 10–18 mm

Colour

• Dark yellow

Twigs

Form

• Slender, smooth, shiny
• Often slightly hairy

Colour

• Greenish- to greyish-brown

Flowers

Form

• Pollen flowers in 3-branched, drooping catkins
• Seed flowers in small erect terminal clusters (spikes)

Structure

• Monoecious

Fruits

Form

• Globular
• Solitary or in pairs
• Husk thin, covered with matted hairs
• 4 ridges extending below a short, sharp tip
• Nut flattened
• Shell thin, can be cut with a knife
• Kernel very bitter

Length

• Fruit 20–35 mm

Width

• Fruit broadest toward the tip
• Nut broadest toward the base

Colour

• Hairs on husk yellowish
• Kernel reddish-brown

Structure

• Nut

Bark

Form

• Remaining smooth for many years
• With age separating into shallow narrow fissures and scaly ridges
• Never with loose plate-like scales

Colour

• Greenish-grey
• Greyish-yellow irregular vertical lines when young

Wood

Uses

• Used for flavouring ham and bacon

Size

Height

• To 25 m

Diameter

• To 50 cm

Maximum age

• 150 years

Tree form

Forest-grown

Trunk

• Long, branch-free, with little taper

Crown

• Short, rounded
• Slender ascending branches that spread out toward the top
• Side branchlets often curving downward

Habitat

Site

• Moist lowlands, rich soils on higher ground

Light tolerance

• Moderately shade-tolerant

Associated species

• Other broadleaf trees

Range

Southern Ontario and southern Quebec