The nuts are larger than shagbark hickory and are borne singly or in pairs. The kernel of the shellbark hickory is light brown, sweet, and in demand as a food. Shellbark hickory is second in popularity to pecan. The wood differs little from that of the shagbark hickory. It is heavy, hard, tough, very strong, and used for many purposes requiring a wood of unusual strength, hardness, and toughness.
Hickories produce excellent firewood.
It thrives in the same areas as the pignut, and is often hard to distinguished from the pignut hickory. Many people consider red hickory to be a northern ecotype of the pignut hickory. The crown is narrowly oblong with rather short, spreading branches. Lower branches are drooping. The trunk extends straight into the crown and is often forked.