How to Identify Hickory Nuts in Kentucky

Kentucky is home to a number of trees from the genus Carya---the hickories---with all of these trees producing an edible nut. Species found in the Bluegrass State include shellbark hickory, pignut hickory, shagbark hickory, mockernut hickory, bitternut hickory and the pecan. The nuts these hickories yield have certain characteristics you can use to identify them. They all possess an inner nut that protects the edible fleshy seed of the tree, with an outer husk covering the nut as it develops.

Instructions

1. Measure the lengths of the nuts you find. Kentucky's hickories have a small variance between the sizes of their nuts. The bitternut hickory nut, according to the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Trees," has a nut averaging between ¾ and 1 ¼ inches long. Pignut hickory nuts will be from one to 2 inches in length, while those of the shellbark hickory can reach 2 ½ inches long, as can the shagbark hickory nut.

2. Observe the shapes of the hickory nuts of Kentucky. The nuts will have a protective husk about them, encasing them and preventing damage to the flesh inside. These husks come in an assortment of shapes, depending upon the particular species. Bitternut hickory nuts are almost round, with flattened tips. Those of pignut hickory have a pear-shape and the nuts from the pecan tree are oblong. Mockernut hickory nuts typically are elliptical.

3. Examine the outer husk of the hickory nuts. Look for traits such as what appears to be four "wings" dividing the husk into quadrants, such as on the bitternut hickory husk. The pecans and pignuts have thin husks, while the husks of the mockernut hickory nuts are much thicker.

4. Study the colors of the husks before and after they ripen. Look for small yellow scales covering the bitternut hickory fruit, while the pecan husk will be brownish. Shellbark hickory nuts change to darker shades of brown as they ripen; shagbark hickory nuts turn to an almost blackish shade of brown before splitting open.

5. Inspect the nuts that the husks of Kentucky's hickories contain. The pignut nut itself lacks "ribs." The pecan nut is smooth and oblong. Mockernut, bitternut, shagbark and shellbark hickory all have four-ribbed nuts that occur inside their protective husks. Bitternut and pignut nuts possess a bitter taste, but the nuts of the shagbark hickory are sweet.

References

• University Of Kentucky: Native Trees Of Kentucky
• "Trees of North America"; C. Frank Brockman; 1996
• "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Trees"; Elbert L. Little; Revised 2008