White Hickory

Biological Name:

Carya alba (White-Hickory)

Natural Habitat:

White hickory is a type of tree that is native to eastern North America. It is typically found in areas with moist, well-drained soils, such as floodplains, bottomlands, and along streams.

Description:

White-Hickory is a tree that is native to North America. It has compound leaves and produces small edible nuts. It is often used as a source of timber and is also used in traditional medicine.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Are white hickory nuts edible?
A: The green husk around the nut turns brown as it dries and can then be peeled away to expose the nut inside. The nuts produced by hickory trees are indeed quite edible, though some species of hickory nut taste better than others.
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Q: Will deer eat hickory nuts?
A: 1 | Hickory Tree This tree is often overlooked in the world of deer hunting. It certainly has its place, though. Deer like them. While hickory nuts aren’t attractive to deer — deer will consume this tree’s browse (buds, stems, etc.).
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Q: What is the best tasting hickory?
A: The two tastiest and most important species of hickory are the shagbark and shellbark types, with shagbarks – so named for the shaggy bark that peels off the tree trunks in long, rough slabs – having a slight edge in flavor.
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Q: Can you eat hickory nuts right off the tree?
A: Hickory nuts can be eaten immediately, right out of the shell, or stored in a cool, dry place for many months. Pawcohiccora is a Native American porridge made out of the nuts of shagbark hickory trees and is where the word hickory originates.
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Q: Did Native Americans eat hickory nuts?
A: “The utilization of hickory nuts goes back to the time of paleo-Indians, who hunted and gathered what they ate and used either rocks or wood to get to the meat from the nut,” says Pat Gwin, director of the Natural Resources department for the Cherokee Nation.
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Q: Do squirrels like hickory nuts?
A: Squirrels obviously love hickory nuts – I’ve been watching squirrels carry hickory nuts as big as their heads, still in their husk, across my lawn all fall.
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Q: What are mockernut hickory used for?
A: A high percentage of the wood is used for products where strength, hardness, and flexibility are needed, such as furniture, flooring, and tool handles. It also makes great firewood. Smoked hams are usually cooked using Mockernut Hickory wood.
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Q: Are hickory trees worth money?
A: High-quality hickory logs are certainly on-par with red oak species—some instances more valuable, some instances less valuable. This of course depends upon who purchases your standing timber and the quality of your trees.
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Q: Can you eat nuts from Mockernut Hickory?
A: Though mockernut kernels are edible, because of their size they are rarely eaten by humans. True hickories provide a very large portion of the high-grade hickory used by industry. Mockernut is used for lumber, pulpwood, charcoal, and other fuel wood products. The wood makes an excellent fuel wood, as well.
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Q: Can you eat nuts from a hickory tree?
A: Hickory nuts can be eaten immediately, right out of the shell, or stored in a cool, dry place for many months. Pawcohiccora is a Native American porridge made out of the nuts of shagbark hickory trees and is where the word hickory originates.
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Q: Why do hickory nuts get worms?
A: Nut weevils attack the developing nuts on the tree during mid summer. The female adult weevil lays her eggs inside the immature nuts. The egg hatches into a creamy white, grub-like larva that feeds inside the nut until fall.
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Q: Do deer eat hickory trees?
A: 1 | Hickory Tree This tree is often overlooked in the world of deer hunting. It certainly has its place, though. Deer like them. While hickory nuts aren’t attractive to deer — deer will consume this tree’s browse (buds, stems, etc.).
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Q: What is the lifespan of a hickory tree?
A: The average lifespan is 200 years, but some longer-lived shagbarks can continue to produce seeds until age 300. Shagbark hickories are stable. Several diseases and pests, including canker rot fungus and hickory bark beetles, attack shagbark hickories. The trees have a number of commercial uses.
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Q: What is a hickory allergy?
A: While hickory trees cause pollinosis (aka hay fever and allergic rhinitis) where the trees are abundant, pecans are reported to cause severe pollinosis. Both species are wind pollinated in the spring.
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Q: Is hickory dust toxic?
A: All types of wood dust that are inahaled are hazardous to your health. Any type of wood dust can be extremely hazardous to your long term health.
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Q: What animals look for hickory nuts?
A: Hickories are members of the walnut family, and the fruit of the shagbark hickory is highly prized by both humans and wildlife. The fruit is a nut with a hard outer husk that splits open when ripe. Black bears, foxes, mice, chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, and a number of birds enjoy the nuts every fall.
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Q: How can you tell if wood is hickory?
A: Start by taking a small sample from your load and holding a flame to it. When you do so, you will find that hickory has a strong aroma that hits you like a train the second the smoke goes into the air. Oak, on the other hand, is a lot more subtle.
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Q: Can you be allergic to hickory smoke?
A: Wood commonly used in barbecue (mesquite, oak, cedar and hickory) can contain pollen proteins that some people are allergic to. These allergens can remain in the smoke even after the wood is burned, and may even transfer to your food or cause oral allergy syndrome (OAS).
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Q: How can you tell if a hickory nut is edible?
A: Look for circular, heart-shaped or oblong nuts that are either slightly flat or rounded. Depending on the species, hickory nuts can have any of these shapes. Taste the nut meat. Several hickory species yield a sweet, edible meat, while others yield bitter meat that one should not eat.
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Q: How can you tell if its hickory?
A: If you’re not sure how to identify a hickory tree, examine the leaves closely. Hickory leaves will have several long, narrow leaves growing in oppositional pairs from each stalk, and each leaf may be anywhere from 2-8 inches long. The leaves will be serrated, with either sharply-pointed or rounded serrations.
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Q: Is hickory the hardest wood?
A: Wood Properties of Hickory On the Janka scale, hickory comes in at an impressive 1820. That’s about 41% harder than the traditional Red Oak. It is the second hardest hardwood species in North America.
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Q: Is hickory wood toxic?
A: Allergies/Toxicity: Besides the standard health risks associated with any type of wood dust, no further health reactions have been associated with Shagbark Hickory.
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Q: Is hickory a hardwood or softwood?
A: The hardest of all domestic hardwoods, hickory has a ranking of 1820 on the Janka scale. This makes it a tough and durable option for your flooring.
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About the author

Samuel is a gardening professional and enthusiast who has spent over 20 years advising homeowners and farm owners on weed identification, prevention and removal. He has an undergraduate degree in plant and soil science from Michigan State University.