Low riskNot food
Bitternut hickory
Carya cordiformis
Sulfur-yellow buds, tight bark, bitter nuts. Smoke wood, not table nuts.
- Marks
- Mustard-yellow buds; bitter kernel
- Size
- 60–80 ft
- Habitat
- Moist woods and lower slopes.
- Season
- Year-round by yellow buds.
- Frequency
- common
Smoothish tight bark, compound leaves with 7–9 leaflets, and bright yellow buds in winter. Nuts are thin-shelled and harshly bitter.
Uses
Smoking wood and firewood. Do not waste hours cracking them for food.
Lookalikes
Shagbark hickory
Carya ovata
Long curling bark plates and the sweetest wild nut in the county.
Low riskEdible