Shagbark Hickory

(Carya ovata) 

Shagbark Hickory is a strong stately tree native to the eastern part of North America. It can be easily identified by its flaking “shaggy” gray bark. When mature,  it produces prolific crops of delicious nuts often heralded as one of the tastiest nuts in the world. The shells are thick and can be tough to crack, so a heavy duty nut cracker comes in handy if processing in bulk. If dried and stored properly the nuts can be stored for up to a decade, which is handy because these trees have boom and bust mast years like a lot of native nut trees. Trees are fairly slow growing and can take a few years to establish their root system and really take off. It can take 30-40 years for the trees to start producing good crops of nuts, but good things take time! (zone 5)