The Pignut Hickory is an abundant species of hickory in the oak-hickory forest association in the Eastern United States and Canada. Other common names are pignut, sweet pignut, coast pignut hickory, smoothbark hickory, swamp hickory, and broom hickory. The pear-shaped nut ripens in September and October and is an important part of the diet of many wild animals. The wood is used for a variety of products, including fuel for home heating.
The fruit of hickory is pear shaped and enclosed in a thin husk developed from the floral involucre. The fruit ripens in September and October, and seeds are dispersed from September through December. Husks are green until maturity; they turn brown to brownish-black as they ripen. The husks become dry at maturity and split away from the nut into four valves along sutures. Husks of pignut hickory split only to the middle or slightly beyond and generally cling to the nut, which is unribbed, with a thick shell.
Hickories provide food to many kinds of wildlife. The nuts are relished by several species of squirrel and represent an estimated 10 to 25 percent of their diet. Nuts and flowers are eaten by the wild turkey and several species of songbirds. Nuts and bark are eaten by black bears, foxes, rabbits, and raccoons. Small mammals eat the nuts and leaves; 5 to 10 percent of the diet of eastern chipmunks is hickory nuts. White-tailed deer occasionally browse hickory leaves, twigs, and nuts.
The kernel of hickory seeds is exceptionally high in crude fat, up to 70 to 80 percent in some species. Crude protein, phosphorus, and calcium contents are generally moderate to low. Crude fiber is very low.
Pignut hickory makes up a small percentage of the biomass in low-quality upland hardwood stands that are prime candidates for clearcutting for chips or fuelwood as the first step toward rehabilitation to more productive stands. Hickory has a relatively high heating value and is used extensively as a home heating fuel.
Pignut hickory is an important shade tree in wooded suburban areas over most of the range but is seldom planted as an ornamental tree because of its size and difficulty of transplanting, although it has spectacular orangey-red fall colors.
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