Hickory trees in the United States grow mostly in the easterly part of the country . The trees let in such species as Carya ovata hickory , pignut hickory , bitternut hickory and the pecan . All of the hickory type farm an edible nut , and all have compound leaves that comprise of a long stem turn that small pamphlet grow on . These hickory parting , though , motley in visual aspect among species .
Size
When you look at the size of a hickory leaf , take into story the single leaflets and the length of the stem they ’re attached to . For example , the mockernut hickory has a folio with a total length of 8 in to 20 inches along the central stem , which botanists pertain to as a rachis . The case-by-case folder are 2 inch to 8 inches long . Another hickory species , the shellbark , owns very long leaves , with the rachis up to 22 inch long . But the individual leaflet rarely are farseeing than 8 inches . Bitternut hickory has a relatively forgetful back that is 6 inches to 9 inches long .
Number of Leaflets
Another broker in identifying hickory leaves is the total number of leaflets on the leaves of each species . For instance , pecans can have as many as 17 separate folder on one stem and typically have no fewer than nine . Conversely , shagbark hickory and pignut hickory commonly have only five leaflets .
Odd Pinnately Compound
You will always notice an rum number of leaflets on a hickory leafage . The correct term for describing hickory leaves is " uneven pinnately chemical compound , " which key an odd number of leaflets growing in rows opposite each other on the backbone . Because of the unmated telephone number of leaflets , one pamphlet will be at the very destruction of the rachis grow by itself straight out from the concluding part of the theme .
Shape and Serrations
Hickory leaflets vary in shape . Those of the shagbark hickory look like the heads of fishgig , with a minute base and an last that point to a point and being broadest in the middle . water system hickory has a much narrower leaflet that curves toward the end . The leaflets on a pecan tree diagram have a much more pointed appearance at the end .
The edges of hickory folio also differ . Some have very fine " teeth , " such as the serrations on water hickory leaflets . Others have more marked serrations along the leafage margins , such as shagbark hickory hickory .
Color
Hickory leaves are all a shade of park , with the exact chromaticity calculate on the species . Those of the shellbark hickory are a yellowish - green color , while black hickory feature glistening , dark green leave-taking . Nutmeg hickory has a booklet with a drear unripe upper surface but a whitish low-spirited control surface .
Fall colors of hickory leaves are normally some form of yellow . Pecan and pignut leave alter to yellow in the dip , according to the " National Audubon Field Guide to Trees . " Shellbark hickory might turn a dull brown - yellow in fall but sometimes can produce a vivid display of golden leaves .
