| Pale
Hickory: Caesers Head State Park, SC |
Jess
Riddle |
| Nov
29, 2004 19:31 PST |
Pale Hickory (Carya pallida), also known as sand hickory,
generally ranges
from southern Mississippi to southern Virginia, but isolated
populations
extend into southern new Jersey. Most often encountered on dry
or sandy
sites in the piedmont, pale hickory occasionally occurs in the
coastal
plain and in the southern Appalachians up to at least 2900'
elevation.
Given the species common habitat, the tree's tendency to have
heavier
branches and a more irregular growth form than other hickories
may not be
surprising. The leaves also differ from other hickories in
having silvery
scales on the underside of the leaves that make some leaflets
almost
white, hence the species' name. Most of the trees in the
southern
Appalachians also have small leaves that make them readily
identifiable
from a distance. The thin husked fruits are fairly small and
nearly
round. The species bark most closely resembles pignut hickory,
but may be
considerable darker. (range and some character data taken from
Brown and
Kirkman's Trees of Georgia and Adjacent States and minorly from
Duncan and
Duncan's Trees of the Southeastern United States)
The dry, very rocky, south facing slopes in Jones Gap and
Caesars Head
State Parks, in SC adjacent to the NC state line, support large
populations of pale hickory, often in uncut forests. Chestnut
oak forms
the greatest portion of the canopy at those sites, but northern
red oak,
pignut hickory and other hardwoods also associate with the pale
hickories.
Curiously, the understories at the sites range from open, to
dense
carolina rhododendron, to thickets of immature paw paw. All of
the trees
listed below grow along the Natureland Trust Trail on the south
side of
Caesars Head in Caesars Head state park.
Cbh Height Comment
NA 88.3'
5'7" 94.2'
9'5" 95.1' Swollen Base
4'5" 102.0' Tallest known in state
Jess Riddle |
|