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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Hickory
| image = Hickory07103.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Shagbark Hickory
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Fagales]]
| familia = [[Juglandaceae]]
| genus = '''''Carya'''''
| genus_authority = [[Thomas Nuttall|Nutt.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = See text
}}
[[Image:Carya nuts.jpg|right|thumb|Comparison of ''Carya'' nuts]]
[[Image:Hickory nuts 6060.JPG|right|thumb|Ripe hickory nuts ready to fall, Andrews, SC]]

'''Hickory''' is a [[tree]] of the genus '' Carya'', including 17-19 species of [[deciduous]] trees with pinnately compound [[leaf|leaves]] and large [[nut (fruit)|nuts]].

[[Image:Carya cordiformis.jpg|left|thumb|''Carya cordiformis'' (Bitternut Hickory) foliage]]
Of the 17–19 species, 12–13 are native to [[North America]] (11–12 in the [[United States]], 1 in [[Mexico]]), and 5–6 species from [[China]] and [[Indochina]].

Another Asian species, Beaked Hickory, previously listed as ''Carya sinensis'', is now treated in a separate genus ''[[Annamocarya]]'', as ''Annamocarya sinensis''.

Hickory [[flower]]s are small yellow-green [[catkin]]s produced in spring. They are [[pollination|anemophilous]] and self-incompatible. The [[fruit]] is a globose or oval nut, 2–5 cm long and 1.5–3 cm diameter, enclosed in a four-valved husk which splits open at maturity. The nut shell is thick and bony in most species, thin in a few, notably ''C. illinoinensis''; it is divided into two halves which split apart when the seed germinates.

===Species and classification===
In the [[APG system]], genus Carya (and the whole [[Juglandaceae]] family) has been recently moved to the [[Fagales]] order.
;North America
*'''''Carya'' sect. ''Carya''''' — typical hickories
**''Carya floridana'' [[Scrub Hickory]]
**''Carya glabra'' [[Pignut Hickory]]
**''Carya myristiciformis'' [[Nutmeg Hickory]]
**''Carya ovalis'' [[Red Hickory]] (treated as a synonym of ''C. glabra'' by ''Flora N. Amer.'')
**''Carya ovata'' [[Shagbark Hickory]]
***''Carya ovata'' var. ''australis'' (syn. ''C. carolinae-septentrionalis'') Southern [[Shagbark Hickory]]
**''Carya laciniosa'' [[Shellbark Hickory]]
**''Carya pallida'' [[Sand Hickory]]
**''Carya texana'' [[Black Hickory]]
**''Carya tomentosa'' (syn. ''C. alba'') [[Mockernut Hickory]]

*'''''Carya'' sect. ''Apocarya''''' — pecans
**''Carya aquatica'' [[Water Hickory]]
**''Carya cordiformis'' [[Bitternut Hickory]]
**''Carya illinoinensis'' [[Pecan]]
**''Carya palmeri'' [[Mexican Hickory]]

;Asia
*'''''Carya'' sect. ''Sinocarya''''' — asian hickories
**''Carya dabieshanensis'' [[Dabie Shan Hickory]] (may be synonymous with ''C. cathayensis'')
**''Carya cathayensis'' [[Chinese Hickory]]
**''Carya hunanensis'' [[Hunan Hickory]]
**''Carya kweichowensis'' [[Guizhou Hickory]]
**''Carya poilanei'' [[Poilane's Hickory]]
**''Carya tonkinensis'' [[Vietnamese Hickory]]

Hickory is used as a food plant by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species including [[Brown-tail]] and the ''[[Coleophora]]'' case-bearers ''C. laticornella'' and ''C. ostryae''. A caterpillar called the hickory horn-devil, which eats foliage of hickory as well as walnut and other trees in the northeast U.S., is the larval form of the regal moth, ''Citheronia regalis'' (family [[Saturniidae]]).

Another insect that uses the hickory tree as a food source is the hickory leafstem gall phylloxera. [[Phylloxera]]ns are related to aphids and have a similarly complex life cycle. Eggs hatch in early spring and the galls quickly form around the developing insects. Phylloxera galls may damage weakened or stressed hickories, but are generally harmless. Deformed leaves and twigs can rain down from the tree in the spring as squirrels break off infected tissue and eat the galls, possibly for the protein content of the phylloxera, or possibly because the galls are fleshy and tasty to the squirrels.

===Uses===
Hickory [[wood]] is ex
tremely tough, yet flexible, and is valued for [[tool]] handles, [[bow (weapon)|bows]] (like [[taxus|yew]]), [[wheel]] spokes, [[cart]]s, [[drumstick]]s, [[golf club (equipment)|golf club]] shafts (sometimes still called ''hickory stick'', even though made of steel or graphite), walking canes etc. and for punitive use as a [[switch]] or [[rod (shaft)|rod]] (like [[hazel]]), and especially as a cane-like [[caning#types and synonyms|hickory stick]] in schools. [[Baseball]] bats (also used as substitute [[paddle (spanking)|paddle]] or even modified for [[physical punishment]]) were formerly made of hickory but are now more commonly made of [[ash tree|ash]]. Hickory is also highly prized for [[wood-burning stove]]s, because of its high caloric content. Hickory wood is also a preferred type for smoke curing meats. In the Southern US, Hickory is popular for cooking [[barbeque]], as hickory grows abundantly in the region, and adds flavor to the meat. Hickory is sometimes used for hardwood flooring due to its durability and character.

A [[bark]] extract from Shagbark Hickory is also used in an edible syrup that is similar to [[maple syrup]], with a slightly bitter, smoky taste.

[[Image:Pecans.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Nuts from the [[pecan]] tree are a common food.]]
The [[nut (fruit)|nut]]s of some species are palatable, while others are bitter and only suitable for animal feed. Shagbark and Shellbark Hickories, along with the [[Pecan]], are regarded by some as the finest nut trees.

When cultivated for their nuts, note that because of their self-incompatibility, clonal (grafted) trees of the same [[cultivar]] cannot [[pollenizer|pollenize]] each other. Two or more different cultivars must be planted together for successful [[pollination]]. Seedlings (grown from hickory nuts) will usually have sufficient genetic variation.

==External links==
*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=105766 Flora of North America: ''Carya'']
*[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=105766 Flora of China: ''Carya'']
*[http://extension-horticulture.tamu.edu/carya/species/index.htm USDA Agricultural Research Service: ''Carya'']
*[http://www.thenutfactory.com/kitchen/edible/facts-hickories.html Edibility of different species' nuts, from a snack food manufacturer]
*[http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/pages/compare-hickories.htm Comparison of eastern North American hickories at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu]
*[http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/pages/carya-fruits.htm Comparison of hickory nuts at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu]

[[Category:Fagales]]
[[Category:Wood]]
[[Category:Pollination]]
[[Category:Edible nuts and seeds]]

Hickory - Revision history

WikiWorks at 07:05, 27 March 2007