Hicoria ovalis, C. glabra var. Bark light gray and smoothish, becoming fissured into forking ridges on older trunks and branches. Twigs thick, glabrous, reddish-brown. The single terminal bud is large, egg-shaped, with glabrous overlapping scales.
Flowers catkins appearing in the early spring.
The nuts of all the hickories are important food for wildlife, especially squirrels. The seeds of red hickory are thick-shelled, sometimes bitter.