Pignut Hickory

The pignut hickory is one of three species of hickory that find a home at Lake Roland. The other two species are mockernut hickory and bitternut hickory.

The pignut might be the easiest of the hickories to identify. Each of its compound leaves usually has 5 leaflets. The vertical flat or rounded ridges on the bark look like they have been planed or sanded. The pignut hickory nuts are perhaps the best ID marker. Their husks have what looks like pig snouts. Some say that’s how the tree got its name. Others believe the tree got its name because farmers used to let their pigs loose to feast on the “pignut” hickory nuts.

This pignut is not the largest one at Lake Roland but it’s the easiest one to see up close. It is on the MD Big Tree Program website: Airtable – Tree Listings on Website. The state champion can be seen at Irvine Nature Center.

This tree ID sign is sponsored by the Baltimore County Forestry Board,
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