Shaggy barked hickories near a stream

Carya ovata or Carya laciniosa

I saw these hickory trees in an old church yard in Christian County, KY. They are growing about 100 feet from a little stream that usually has some pools of water, even in the hottest, driest months of summer.

I don't know whether these hickory trees are shagbarks (Carya ovata)or shellbarks (Carya laciniosa). The two species are very similar. Shellbarks are said to prefer moist locations, so these may be shellbarks. The bark of shellbarks is supposed to be a little less shaggy and scaly than shagbarks. To be honest, I usually call them all shagbarks.

In Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines for Urban and Rural America (see bibliographic info at bottom of page), Gary Hightshoe writes that shagbark hickories (Carya ovata) sometimes grow in alluvial soils in the southern U.S. -- that is, where a stream has deposited silt over the centuries. However, they are often found in dryer environs, such as sunny, wooded hillsides.

Shagbarks can tolerate poor drainage but they will not live where water stands for long periods of time. The trees in the photo are far enough away from the stream that flooding would be brief and infrequent.

Shagbarks are long-lived, slow-growing trees, often surviving over 200 years. The church was built in the first decade of the 1900s, and I suspect that the trees were saplings or bigger at that time.

The shagbark hickory's shape is somewhat narrow. Typically, its spread is about half its height. These trees' lower branches were probably removed to facilitate mowing, making them look particularly narrow in shape. In maturity, the shagbark can reach 100 feet in height in optimal conditions. I believe these trees are about 100 feet tall.

The photo below shows another shagbark or shellbark hickory, a few miles away, which also grows near a little stream. I suspect this one may indeed be a shellbark, because the nuts are so big already.