Winter Tree ID: Bitternut Hickory

Redbuds are not the only tree named in reference to their buds. Bitternut hickory is also called yellowbud hickory, which to me is a more useful name, since I rarely pick up, pry open, and taste the squirrel-neglected nuts I find on the ground. On the other hand, it’s only during this half of the year that the name yellowbud hickory is really helpful. At other times of year you might use the bark (which has shallow interlacing fissures like a lattice pie crust) or the nuts which are small and have a thin husk, unlike shagbark hickory, for example.

Another interesting feature of the yellowbud hickory are the leaf scars, which are large and almost look like runes: