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Home , Carya glabra, Carya ovata, Taproot

Cultivation Notes No. 73 The Rhode Island Wild Society Spring 2018 Shagbark Shagbark Hickory – Carya ovata Family: by Russ Cohen

Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) are a end. The of a young shagbark hickory, ed into baked goods. Indeed, their fine flavor familiar sight along rural roads and field however, is light gray and smooth; the shag- makes them a superior substitute for edges over much of New England, as well as giness develops as the trunk exceeds four to or in almost any recipe. People who further south and west. They are recognizable five inches in diameter. taste my maple-hickory pie (the recipe is

year-round by their tell-tale bark. Although in my book, Wild I Have Known…and Shagbark hickory’s compound have five other trees such as silver maple (Acer sacchari- Eaten) prefer it to pie, as its flavor is leaflets, the two inner ones noticeably smaller num) have shaggy bark, C. ovata’s is the most richer and less cloying. than the outer three. They are typically over dramatic. Pieces of bark typically peel off in 60 feet tall, with trunks a foot or more in vertical strips over a foot long, pulling away While not hard to grow Carya ovata from diameter. Although several other species of from the trunk up to several inches at each , it takes 20 years or more for a seed- smoother-barked , such as the pignut grown to produce good-sized nut crops. () grow in So, while you are waiting, you may want to Distinctive shaggy bark of the shagbark hickory, Carya ovata this region, I tend to gather nuts from existing shagbark hickories Photo by Russ Cohen ignore them. Their in Rhode Island, rural Connecticut (Windham nuts tend to be small- and New London Counties), or Massachu- er and less reliably setts (Bristol, Norfolk or Worcester Counties). tasty than those of the shagbark. In addition, Shagbark hickory nuts typically ripen in this trees of the other region over four to six weeks, from mid-Sep- hickory species tend tember into late October. The quantity and to be less conspicuous quality of hickory nuts can vary considerably than C. ovata. from tree to tree and from year to year, as the

In addition to the trees tend to produce large nut crops on a tree’s distinctive peel- two-to-three-year cycle. ing bark (under which The nut are enclosed in a smooth, light bats are known to tan, inch-long shell covered by a spherical, roost), it has attrac- shiny-green, four-parted husk. The nuts usu- tive, deep-yellow fall ally fall when they are ripe, so there’s no need foliage; and its is to pick them from the tree. The husk typically useful for tool handles, splits away from the shell or is easily pulled heating, and smok- off by hand. ing. But Carya ovata’s most appealing trait is Hickory nuts were (and, in some cases, still the deliciousness of are) a very popular food of Native Ameri- its nuts. Some people, cans. European botanists of the 17th and including me, believe 18th centuries observed them crushing the that no tastier nut is shells with stones, and putting nut meats, produced by a native shells and all, into mortars, where they would species of this, or per- be mixed and pounded with water and then haps any, region. To boiled to produce a milky soup or gruel-like me, shagbark hickory substance called “powcohickora” (hence the nuts taste like store- derivation of the word “hickory”). bought walnuts lightly Propagation sprayed with maple The first step to propagating shagbark hicko- syrup. They are good ry from seed is to gather some nuts and plant eaten raw right out them outdoors soon after collection before of the shell, but even they dry out and lose their viability. Or store better when lightly nuts in a sealed plastic bag to retain mois- toasted or incorporat-

6 Wildflora RI Cultivation Notes

as any part of the Other Sources sprouted nut has not Cohen, Russell, 2004. “Shagbark Hickory. yet been used by the Fall Foraging Fun for Friends and Fami- growing tree, rodents lies,” (Chapter 11), Wild Plants I Have and other critters will Known…and Eaten, Essex County Green- be tempted to go belt Association. after it. (I know this from bitter experi- Koch, K. “Carya ovata.” Plants for a Future. ence.) I now leave the Web. 13 March 2018. protection on until < https://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant. near the end of the aspx?LatinName=Carya+ovata> growing season, when I use metal cutters to Koch, K. “Hickories: Carya ovata.” Texas remove the mesh. A&M University. Web. 13 March 2018. < https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ Nuts fall when ripe, so no need to pick. Photo by Russ Cohen In choosing a loca- carya/species/ovata/ovata.htm> tion, remember that hickory trees bear larger “Non-Timber Forest Products: Have You ture, and refrigerate them for four to six crops in full sun. And avoid rocky sites Considered Shagbark and Shellbark Hicko- months to mimic winter conditions. Then because the hickory’s long tap needs ries?” Woodlands Magazine, sow them outdoors the following spring. December, 2010. Vol. 5, Issue 3. University deep . While C. ovata trees are mone- of Kentucky Cooperative Extension. Web. If you have not yet determined a per- cious and self-fertile, planting two or more March 13, 2018. manent location for your shagbark trees, trees close to each other helps ensure good plant them in deep pots. Shagbarks spend pollination and nut production.

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