Sargent[26] has described five varieties of this species, three of which
he credits to Indiana. The writer has sent him specimens from over 100
trees of this species, and he has variously distributed them to the type
and varieties. Heimlich has reported Sargent's determination of many of
these specimens in the Proc. Ind. Acad. Science, 1917:436-439:1918. The
writer cannot agree with the determinations and believes further field
study is necessary to discover characters by which the several forms can
consistently be divided.
To stimulate the study of this species, the original description of the
varieties together with Sargent's characterization of the type are
quoted because they are contained in a book not usually found in
libraries. To these descriptions are added new characters which Sargent
gives in his revision of the hickories in Bot. Gaz. 66:245-247:1918.
=Carya ovalis= (type).
"In the shape of the fruit and in the thickness of its involucre this
tree is of four distinct forms; in all of them the involucre splits
freely to the base, or nearly to the base, the shell of the nut is thin
and the seed, although small, is sweet and edible. The extremes of these
forms are very distinct, but there are forms which are intermediate
between them, so that it is difficult to decide sometimes to which of
the forms these intermediate forms should be referred. The first of
these forms, as the fruit agrees with Wangenheim's figure, must be
considered the type of the species. The fruit is oval, narrowed and
rounded at the base, acute at the apex, usually from 2.5-3 cm. long and
about 1.5 cm. in diameter. The involucre is from 2-2.5 mm. thick and
occasionally one of the sutures remains closed. The nut is oblong,
slightly flattened, rounded at the base, acute or acuminate and
four-angled at the apex, the ridges extending for one-third or rarely
for one-half of its length, from 2-2.5 cm. long and about 1.5 cm. in
diameter. The shell is usually about 1 mm. thick." "The type of this
species and its varieties have glabrous or rarely slightly pubescent
leaves, with usually 7 thin leaflets."
=7a.= =Carya ovalis= variety =obcordàta= (Muhlenberg) Sargent. "The
fruit varies from subglobose to short-oblong or to slightly obovate,
showing a tendency to pass into that of the other varieties of the
species. It varies from 2-3 cm. in diameter, and the involucre, which is
from 2-5 mm. thick, splits freely to the base or nearly to the base by
narrowly winged sutures, one of them rarely extending only to the middle
of the fruit. The nut is usually much compressed, often broadest above
the middle, slightly angled sometimes to below the middle, rounded at
the base and much compressed, often broadest above the middle, slightly
angled sometimes to below the middle, rounded at the base and rounded
and often more or less obcordate at the apex."
=7b.= =Carya ovalis= variety =odoràta= (Marshall) Sargent. "The name may
have been given by Marshall to this variety on account of the strong
resinous odor of the inner surface of the fresh involucre of the fruit,
which I have not noticed in that of the other forms. The fruit is
subglobose or sometimes slightly longer than broad, flattened and
usually from 1.3-1.5 cm. in diameter. The involucre varies from 1-1.5
mm. in thickness and splits freely to the base by distinctly winged
sutures. The nut is rounded or acute at the base with a short point,
rounded at the apex, very slightly or not at all ridged, pale colored,
from 1.2-1.5 cm. long and wide and from 1-1.2 cm. thick."
=7c.= =Carya ovalis= variety =obovàlis= Sargent. "In the fourth form the
fruit is more or less obovate, about 2.5 cm. long and 2 cm. in diameter,
and the involucre varies from 2-4 mm. in thickness. The nut is much
compressed, pointed or rounded at the apex, rounded at the base, usually
about 2 cm. long, nearly as broad and about 1.5 cm. thick." "The fruit
resembles in shape that of _Carya glabra_, but the involucre is thicker
and splits easily to the base or nearly to the base."
=7d.= =Carya ovalis= variety =obcordàta=, =f. vestita= Sargent. Bot.
Gaz. 66:246:1918. This is a form described from a specimen collected by
the author on the border of Dan's Pond in Knox County. It differs from
"the variety _obcordata_ in the thick tomentose covering of the
branchlets during their first year. The leaves of this form are slightly
pubescent in the autumn on the under surface of the midribs. Although
the nuts are more compressed than those of the ordinary forms of var.
_obcordata_, the fruit is of that variety. The branchlets are unusually
stout for a form of _Carya ovalis_ and are covered with rusty tomentum
during their first year and are more or less pubescent in their second
and third seasons."
=Distribution.=--Western New York west to Illinois and south to North
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri. The
species is found in all parts of the State, although the distribution of
the varieties has not been worked out. The habitat of this species is
high ground, and only rarely is it found in low ground. It prefers
hills, slopes, base of the terraces of streams, and in the northern part
of the State gravelly ridges and sandy soil. In all of its range it is
usually associated with white and black oak. It is infrequent in the
southern part of the State but north of the Wabash River it becomes more
frequent and in some places it becomes common to very common. It is a
common tree in Wells County north of the Wabash River and in the
northern part of Lagrange County, and in both places a wide range of
forms occur, some of which are not covered by the preceding description.
No one of our trees offers a better opportunity for intensive study than
this hickory.
=Remarks.=--Text books call this species the small-fruited hickory. It
is not commonly distinguished from the other hickories, but in Wells
County where it is common the boys call it "Ladies' Hickory."
=8.= =Carya Búckleyi= variety =arkansàna= Sargent.[27] Plate 29. Medium
sized trees, bark tight, dark, deeply furrowed; mature twigs more or
less pubescent, reddish brown; terminal buds ovoid, about 8 mm. long,
thickly covered with yellow scales, and more or less pubescent; leaves
2-3.5 dm. long, rachis permanently pubescent; leaflets 5-7, prevailing
number 7, lanceolate, terminal one about 15 cm. long, tawny pubescent on
unfolding, more or less glabrous at maturity; fruit ellipsoid to
slightly obovoid, very aromatic, about 3.5-4 cm. long, covered with
yellow scales; husk usually splitting to below the middle, 3-4 mm.
thick; nut oblong to slightly obovoid, 3-3.5 cm. long, scarcely
compressed, rounded at each end, the four ridges faint except at the
apex; shell thick, about 2 mm. at the thinnest point; kernel sweet; wood
same as the white hickory which it most closely resembles.
=Distribution.=--Southwestern Indiana, south in the Mississippi Valley
to Louisiana and Texas. Known in Indiana only from one tree in Knox
County on the sand ridge on the east side of what was formerly a cypress
swamp, about two miles north of Decker. The soil is the Knox sand. It is
associated with black and black jack oaks.
=Remarks.=--The description has been drawn from ample material from this
single tree.
[Illustration: Plate 29.