Hickory Lesson Needed

East Bridgewater, MA

So whenever I find a non-Shagbark hickory I can't tell what it is. This time I took as detailed pics as I could which I included in two posts.

Any ID tips for pignut, mockernut, and bitternut would be appreciated. :)

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East Bridgewater, MA

This was by the ocean in Quincy, MA by the way.

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Scott County, KY(Zone 5b)

Better set of images, but to do EVEN better: take a sample of the plant to where you can get good clear closeups of all the parts - like dormant buds, the full compound leaf front and back, etc. Buds are usually very good ways to separate plants within a genus that are otherwise pretty similar from a distance. In all your images, it was hard to make out a bud very clearly. Sometimes it is hairiness of leaf petioles and rachis, or hairs in (or absent from) the vein axils on the undersides of leaf surfaces.

I think the small elongate sulfur yellow buds are your key feature, along with the small nut and number of leaflets on the compound foliage.

Compare with Carya cordiformis - Bitternut Hickory.

East Bridgewater, MA

As always, thanks VV!

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