The husk of the nut is fleshy, not woody, and does not split open when mature. The husks of hickories do split open when mature. Shagbark Hickory has a distinctive shaggy bark. The leaves are large, as are the nuts. Shagbark Hickory grows throughout the Eastern Deciduous Forest except on the Southern Coastal Plain.
Hickories are economically important tree.
The wood is very hard and is used for tool handles and baseball hats. Many of the nuts are delicious. The Pecan is a commercial species of hickory. It is extremely difficult to remove the meat from most of the other hickory species, no matter how good they taste. All rights reserved.