Forest Trees of Illinois Part 2

THE pecan is a river-bottom tree found in southern Illinois extending its range northward to Adams, Peoria, Fayette and Lawrence counties. The tree is the largest of the hickories, attaining heights of over 100 feet and, when in the open, forming a large rounded top of symmetrical shape.

It makes an excellent shade tree and is also planted in orchards for its nuts. The outer _bark_ is rough, hard, tight, but broken into scales; on the limbs, it is smooth at first but later tends to scale or divide as the bark grows old.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PECAN

One-quarter natural size.]

The _leaves_ resemble those of the other hickories and the black walnut.

They are made up of 9 to 17 leaflets, each oblong, toothed and long-pointed, and 4 to 8 inches long by about 2 inches wide.

The _flowers_ appear in early spring and hang in ta.s.sels from 2 to 3 inches long. The _fruit_ is a nut, 4-winged or angled, pointed from 1 to 2 inches long, and one-half to 1 inch in diameter, borne in a husk which divides along its grooved seams when the nut ripens in the fall. The nuts, which vary in size and in the thickness of the sh.e.l.l, have been greatly improved by selection and cultivation and are sold on the market in large quant.i.ties.

The _wood_ is strong, tough, heavy and hard and is used occasionally in making handles, parts for vehicles, for fuel and for veneers.

The water hickory, _Carya aquatica_ Nutt., is a smaller tree, found in swamps in southern Illinois, with leaves made up of 7 to 13 leaflets; the nut is thin-sh.e.l.led, angular and bitter.

+s.h.a.g-BARK HICKORY+ _Carya ovata_ K. Koch

THE s.h.a.g-bark hickory is well known for its sweet and delicious nuts. It is a large commercial tree, averaging 60 to 100 feet high and 1 to 2 feet in diameter. It thrives best on rich, damp soil and is common along streams, on rich uplands, and on moist hillsides throughout the State.

[Ill.u.s.tration: s.h.a.g-BARK HICKORY

Leaf, one-third natural size. Twig, one-half natural size.]

The _bark_ of the trunk is rougher than other hickories, light gray and separating into thick plates which are only slightly attached to the tree. The terminal _winter buds_ are egg-shaped, the outer bud-scales having narrow tips.

The _leaves_ are alternate, compound, from 8 to 15 inches long, and composed of 5, rarely 7 obovate to ovate leaflets. The twigs are smooth or clothed with short hairs.

The _fruit_ is borne singly or in pairs and is globular. The husk is thick and deeply grooved at the seams. The nut is much compressed and pale, the sh.e.l.l thick, and the kernel sweet. The flowers are of two kinds, opening after the leaves have attained nearly their full size.

The _wood_ is heavy, hard, tough and strong; it is white largely in the manufacture of agricultural implements and tool handles, and the building of carriages and wagons. For fuel the hickories are the most satisfactory of our native trees.

The big sh.e.l.l bark or king-nut hickory, _Carya laciniosa_ (Michx. f.) Loud., becomes a tall tree on the rich bottom lands in the southern half of Illinois. It resembles the s.h.a.g-bark hickory but the leaves are longer with 7 to 9 leaflets, and the nuts are 2 inches long with a thick bony sh.e.l.l and a sweet kernel.

+MOCKERNUT HICKORY+ _Carya tomentosa_ Nutt.

THE mockernut, or white hickory, is common on well-drained soils throughout the State. It is a tall, short-limbed tree often 60 feet high and 1 to 2 feet in diameter.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MOCKERNUT HICKORY

Leaf, one-fifth natural size. Twig, two-thirds natural size.]

The _bark_ is dark gray, hard, closely and deeply furrowed often apparently cross-furrowed or netted. The winter buds are large, round or broadly egg-shaped and covered with a downy growth.

The _leaves_ are large, strong-scented and hairy, composed of 7 to 9 obovate to oblong, pointed leaflets which turn a beautiful yellow in the fall.

The _flowers_, like those of all other hickories, are of two kinds on the same tree; the staminate in three-branched catkins, the pistillate in cl.u.s.ters of 2 to 5. The _fruit_ is oval, nearly round or slightly pear-shaped with a very thick, strong-scented husk which splits nearly to the base when ripe. The nut is of various forms, but sometimes 4 to 6 ridged, light brown, and has a very thick sh.e.l.l and small, sweet kernel.

The _wood_ is heavy, hard, tough and strong; it is white excepting the comparatively small, dark-brown heart, hence the name white hickory. It is used for vehicle parts and handles. It furnishes the best of fuel.

This and other hickories are very desirable both for forest and shade trees.

In the southern part of Illinois, the small fruited or sweet pignut, _Carya ovalis_ Sargent, occurs on rich hillsides. The leaves have 7 leaflets on reddish-brown twigs, with small yellowish winter buds. The nut is an inch long, enclosed in a very thin hairy husk, the sh.e.l.l is thin and the kernel sweet.

+PIGNUT HICKORY+ _Carya glabra_ Sweet

THE pignut hickory is rare in the northern part of Illinois but occurs plentifully in the rest of the State, growing to a medium sized tree on rich uplands. It has a tapering trunk and a narrow oval head with drooping branches.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PIGNUT HICKORY

Leaf, one-third natural size. Twig, one-half natural size.]

The _bark_ is close, ridged and grayish, but occasionally rough and flaky. The twigs are thin, smooth and glossy brown.

The _leaves_ are smooth, 8 to 12 inches long and composed of 5 to 7 leaflets. The individual leaflets are rather small and narrow.

The _winter buds_ are 1/2 inch long, egg-shaped, polished, and light brown.

The _fruit_ is pear-shaped or rounded, usually with a neck at the base, very thin husks splitting only half way to the base or not at all. The nut is smooth, light brown in color, rather thick-sh.e.l.led, and has a somewhat astringent edible kernel.

The _wood_ is heavy, hard, strong, tough and flexible. Its uses are the same as those of the other hickories.

Buckley's hickory, _Carya buckleyi_ Durand, occurs on sandy uplands in the southwest. It is a small tree with spreading, contorted branches.

The fruit is contained in a hairy husk, the nut is angular, marked with pale veins and has a sweet kernel.

+BLUE BEECH+ _Carpinus caroliniana_ Walt.

THE blue beech, or American hornbeam, belongs to the birch family rather than to the beeches. It is a small slow-growing bushy tree, 20 to 30 feet tall with a diameter 4 to 8 inches. It is found along streams and in low ground through the State.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BLUE BEECH

Leaf, one-half natural size. Twig, one-half natural size.]

The trunk is smooth fluted with irregular ridges extending up and down the tree. The _bark_ is light brownish-gray to dark bluish-gray in color, sometimes marked with dark bands extending horizontally on the trunk.

The _leaves_ are simple, alternate, oval, long-pointed, doubly-toothed along the margin, 2 or 3 inches in length. They resemble those of the American elm, but are smaller and thinner.

The _flowers_, appearing after the leaves, are borne in catkins separately on the same tree; the staminate catkins are about 1-1/2 inches long, the pistillate being only 3/4 of an inch long with small leaf-like green scales each bearing 2 pistils with long scarlet styles.

The _fruit_ ripens in midsummer, but often remains on the tree long after the leaves have fallen. It is a nutlet about 1/3 of an inch long, attached to a leaf-like halberd-shaped bract which acts as a wing in aiding its distribution by the wind.

The _wood_ is tough, close-grained, heavy and strong. It is sometimes selected for use for levers, tool handles, wooden cogs, mallets, wedges, etc.

Another small tree of the birch family is the speckled alder, _Alnus incana_ Moench, which is found occasionally in wet places in the northern part of the State. The black alder, _Alnus glutinosa_ Gaertn., a European tree, has been planted near ponds. The flowers of the alders are in catkins and among the earliest in the spring. The fruit is a small cone which persists throughout the winter.

+HOP HORNBEAM+ _Ostrya virginiana_ K. Koch