Identifying 5 common Hickories by their leaves

[@alexandervonbismarck3302]

I just spent two days trying to find a guide to distinguishing hickories. This is far and away the best, video or otherwise.

[@barkinuptherighttree4698]

Thanks for watching and for the compliment! If it is helpful I also have a 'Hickories' playlist on this channel with several videos using bark, buds and nuts to identify these 5 hickories during the leafless months.

[@barkinuptherighttree4698]

Thanks for watching! I am glad you found this video helpful and good luck nursing those saplings along. I find wild shagbarks grow well in wet and well drained soils while the pignuts are always on the better drained soils. You also mentioned bigleaf magnolia on your property - these amazing trees are common in the Daniel Boone National Forest east of Lexington, KY. I have hiked in that area twice this year recording the Bigleaf and Umbrella Magnolias summer and winter appearance. Those videos can be found on this channel under the playlist titled 'Magnolias'.

[@bobbyadkins885]

I’m new to the channel, I’ve looked and looked for a channel like this, glad I found it, so much better then a field guide for hickory identification. Thank you for this information

[@barkinuptherighttree4698]

Thanks for watching Bobby...I am making a deliberate effort to record the trees for this channel in a natural setting like you may find them on your own adventures. Please let me know if you any questions about the trees on this channel. Good Luck!

[@twinsgardening896]

Thank you for this video! This is so helpful, I found a hickory today with very large leaves, I was assuming it was a mockernut, but it was growing right next to a creek, so now I think it might be a shellbark instead, which is really cool!

[@barkinuptherighttree4698]

Thanks for watching! Shellbark Hickory is definitely common in the moist ravines at Caesar Creek Park where I recorded that segment of this video. I also recorded Shellbark Hickory in a swamp forest about 10 miles south of that location. Also, Water and Nutmeg Hickories are found in moist habitats in the Deep South but I have not recorded in that area for this channel yet. Shellbark nuts are 2 - 3 inches in diameter so keep an eye out for them on the ground this fall. Good Luck

[@rosesmith6208]

a few years ago I found a shellbark hickory (I did not know exactly which hickory it was at the time) I dug it up it seemed to be about 3 years old, planted it in my yard, (it was in the woods so I wanted it near my house about 100 feet away) and it is doing well and it is in a damp area ofthe property near a pin oak tree that my hubby cut down as he did not like it getting so big. I took my books to id the exact hickory. and your right the leaves are huge, but it is filling out before it sparsly leafed before I moved it.

[@barkinuptherighttree4698]

Thanks for watching Rose and best luck with your transplanted tree! Most trees will get larger leaves and grow vigorously when moved to a sunnier or more fertile location. Both Pin Oak and Shellbark Hickory grow in damp soils in the wild so hopefully your tree will prosper in it's new location. Good Luck

[@AChickandaDuck]

Very helpful and informative, thank you!

[@barkinuptherighttree4698]

Glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for watching!

[@kennethmcdonald2987]

new subscriber .Great video my wife found some seedlings in our woods in her wildlife area while clearing out some invasive privet and was having some issues identifying them this helped quite a bit in deciding what they were .Ironically she had started some shagbark from nuts to plant in this area and they are doing well from nuts she will plant them later when they are better established .The ones under the privet were both Shagbark and Pignut since she already has a massive native Pecan growing in this area she figures the Hickories should do fine also .I never knew the native pecans got so huge it rivals some of our larger oaks here on our rural property .It is strange but for decades it never did anything until she started taking care of it 2 years ago .It was loaded down this year with beautiful nuts .She is known in our area as the Tree Whisperer .The neighbors thought she had lost her mind hitting it with a broom and threatening it to cut it down .She is an arborist but not really familiar with Hickories most people cut them down along with Sweet Gums due to the litter issue so they are rare around here sadly .She did wander around and found a lot of rare trees several Big leaf Magnolias ,Carolina Silver Bells ,Graybeards ,Firethorns and others I can't remember the names of .All are totally off limits to me .

[@restorationlandscapingkankakee]

Where do you live?

[@masonherlihy717]

Interesting around Minute 5, the Shagbark.. Would be a Shellbark for sure. At least in NC Piedmont, where I am located. Shagbark here do not have any ‘hair’ on leaflets or stalks. Shellbark definitely do though. Also, Hybridization is much more common then I ever knew- where different species overlap especially. Tons of Hickory/Pecan hybrids here (water Hickory). Pignut and Sand hickory, southern Shagbark, Carolina Shagbark etc etc .. it’s amazing! Such a fascinating journey and I can tell you share the same passion- cheers man! Nice work 👍

[@masonherlihy717]

You cover the subject very in depth- I commented too early 😂 Really detailed, I learned a lot! Typically within a few seconds I can narrow it down to at least the main Hickory families/groups - “True hickory, Pugnut, Pecan groups.” I have read that although we can give reliable ID characteristics, these amazing trees are living things. And their absolutely entitled to look different 😄

[@barkinuptherighttree4698]

Thanks for watching Mason. I remember my field ecology professors pointing out examples of trees that 'had not read the field guide' by growing at higher elevations than normal or exhibiting hybrid traits i.e. Mother Nature doesn't always 'stay in the box'. For the purposes of this channel I am concentrating on the geographic area where I have spent the most time hiking - the Lower Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Appalachian Mountains. It sounds like your location provides the opportunity to observe several southern hickory species and hybrids! I would like to add Pecan (a sixth hickory) to this channel in the future. The range maps show it in the Lower Ohio Valley so a short road trip would be in order.

[@rosesmith6208]

hybrids? that is good to know I did not know they did that too like oaks do. I bet that can make id a challenge.

[@WhistleLad]

Thank you!

[@Andrew-cu9lf]

Excellent. Thank you.

[@restorationlandscapingkankakee]

Which ones would you say are most common in heavy clay?

[@barkinuptherighttree4698]

Thanks for watching...Shagbark amd Shellbark Hickories are found in the flat, poorly drained woodlands of the Ohio Valley and lower Great Lakes. Many of these soils have a dense layer of compacted silt and clay just below the surface resulting in wet conditions for months at a time. The other videos on this channel about these two hickories were recorded in such a location. The other hickories in this video are found in better drained soils. The pignut and mockernut hickories can tolerate extremely dry and rocky soils. Good Luck

[@anthonyr5869]

I use this stuff to smoke meat I’ve been buying it for years little did I know I have a lifetime supply on my 6 acres

[@barkinuptherighttree4698]

Thanks for watching! Yes hickories can often look like Ash, Tulip Poplar and often don't have obvious features for easy identification (except Shagbark). Glad you were able to identify the resource you had on your property. Good Luck