The Shagbark Hickory, is a large deciduous tree that typically grows 70-90’ (infrequently to 120’) tall with an irregular, oval-rounded crown. It likes both dry upland wooded slopes and hills and in moist valleys and lowland woods. Trunks mature to 2-3’ in diameter. This tree features smooth, medium yellow-green, odd-pinnate, compound leaves, each leaf having 5 (less frequently 7 or 9) finely-toothed, broadly lance-shaped, pointed leaflets. Leaflets range from 3-7” long. Leaves turn yellow to golden brown in fall. Non-showy, monoecious greenish yellow flowers appear in April-May, the male flowers in pendulous catkins (to 3-5” long) and the female flowers in short spikes. Female flowers give way to edible oval-rounded nuts. Each nut is encased in a moderately thick husk which splits open in four sections when ripe in fall. Nuts are attractive to a variety of wildlife. Bark of young trees is gray and smooth, but exfoliates in long strips with age. The exfoliation is more recurved and pronounced than on the similar-in-appearance shellbark hickory. Hickory wood is often used to cure/smoke meats. It is also an excellent firewood/fuel. The wood is extremely hard and is used to make a variety of products including tool handles, ladders, gun stocks and furniture. Hickory is denser, stiffer, and harder than either White Oak or Hard Maple

Good wildlife food source. Good for wood building material, indoors only. The logs can be used to grow mushrooms. Never use as outdoor wood building material, it's very prone to insects eating it up.

Best grown in humusy, rich, moist, well-drained loams in full sun to part shade. This tree needs a very large space within which to grow. It is difficult to transplant because of its deep taproot. Cross-pollination generally produces a more abundant crop of better quality nuts

Anthracnose and leaf spot are occasional diseases. Large trees can produce considerable litter through twig, leaf and fruit (nut) drop.

Insect pests include Hickory bark beetle, pecan weevil and twig girdler