Trees of Alabama and the Southeast Home Page

Leaves are alternate, deciduous, hairless, and pinnately compound with 5-7 obovate leaflets.  Twigs are red-brown, smooth and slender.  Terminal buds of pignut hickory are generally smaller and twigs more slender than in mockernut hickory.  Bark is gray-brown with interlacing ridges. Nut is sweet and pear-shaped and enclosed in a thin husk that splits only part way.  Pignut hickory is found on a variety of upland sites in the eastern U.S. and is intermediate in shade tolerance.  The hard wood is used for pulpwood and furniture.  The nuts are eaten by many small mammals.

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All text and photographs are intended for educational purposes only and are not for commercial use in any form.  All photographs are copyrighted by the named photographer(s), text copyright by Lisa Samuelson. © 2005, all rights reserved. Photographs by Mike Hogan.