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The word hickory refers to any of a group of fifteen to eighteen
species of deciduous timber and nut-producing trees. Hickories
belong to the walnut family, Juglandaceae. They are mostly confined
to eastern and central North America and Mexico, except two, which
are native to eastern Asia. Some fossil remains that are believed to
have belonged to the genus Carya of the walnut family are
said to have been in western North America, Greenland, Iceland and
Europe.
The Hickory tree
Hickory trees are medium to large, tall trees, growing to about
hundred feet in height. They have a long taproot. They grow very
slowly. The hickory leaves are pointed and comprise between five
seventeen toothed leaflets. |
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The flowers of the hickory are without
petals. The female and the male flowers are borne in different
clusters on the same tree. Male flowers may be found in hanging
catkins and the female in terminal spikes of 2 to 10 flowers. Hickory fruit and nut varieties
Hickory fruits are round or egg shaped, with a hard shell. The
fruits are enclosed in a fleshy husk that splits into four woody
valves as it matures. The nuts of some varieties contain large,
sweet-tasting, edible seeds. The Shagbark hickory, which has a
rough, shaggy bark that splits off into long, curved strips, and the
Shellbark hickory, which has a rough bark that separates into long
straight plates, bear large nuts with thick shells. The nuts of the
bitternut hickory and water hickory are very bitter. |
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Pecan
Among the most important varieties of hickories is the pecan. It is
cultivated for its nuts and wood. The variety is native to temperate
North America.
The pecan tree grows to a height of about fifty meters. The diameter
of its trunk is about two meters. It has a deeply furrowed bark. Its
leaves are compound, nine to seventeen finely toothed leaflets that
are arranged in feather fashion.
Pecan nuts are rich and they have a distinctive texture and flavor.
The size of the pecan nut is quite varied, although the most common
ones are large. There could be anywhere between one hundred and one
hundred and fifty nuts in a kilo. The nuts are usually oblong in
shape and have a thin shell.
The pecan may be eaten raw or you may have it sweetened or salted.
It is widely used in pastries. One must, however, remember that the
pecan has a high calorie content, almost equivalent to that of
butter.
Although pecan is native to North America, it has been introduced in
other places and is now being cultivated to a considerable extent in
Australia and South Africa.
Hickory wood
Manufacturers of hammers, axes, picks, hatchets, sledges value
Hickory wood, on account of its strength, toughness, and stiffness.
It is used for making furniture and also considered an excellent fuel material. It produces
high quality charcoal.
The wood of pignut hickory is particularly most valued. Pignut
hickory wood is white or light cream in color, close grained and is
considered the heaviest among the varieties used for commercial
purposes. A cubic foot of pignut hickory weighs about fifty-three
pounds. |
