{"id":1063,"date":"2015-09-20T04:00:21","date_gmt":"2015-09-20T08:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/?p=1063"},"modified":"2015-09-20T04:00:21","modified_gmt":"2015-09-20T08:00:21","slug":"hickory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/hickory\/","title":{"rendered":"Hickory"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The wood that is called Hickory is properly known as a member of the Carya<\/em> genus. Those of you familiar with the way I typically describe woods will know that I almost always will identify the woods I work with down to the species level, but in the case of Hickory, that may not be possible. The most common type of tree that yields a wood sold as Hickory is Carya ovata<\/em>, or Shagbark Hickory. However, I can’t say for certain that I worked with C. ovata<\/em> due to the existence of at least six other species within the Carya<\/em> genus that are also sold as hickory. Interestingly to me, one of the Carya<\/em> species commonly found in North America, Carya illinoinensis<\/em>, is the source of the edible Pecan nut. I have worked with wood from that Carya<\/em> species and I find it unlikely that this Hickory was in fact Pecan because it doesn’t look similar to what I have worked with in the past, and because Pecan tree wood, when available, and that isn’t common, is almost always sold as Pecan. So, while I am confident that the wood I worked with is a member of the Carya<\/em> genus, without benefit of genetic testing, I cannot with certainty go to the species level, although, as I noted, I would bet a large amount on C. ovata<\/em>.<\/p>\n