Shagbark Hickory

Hickory is cultivated for its sweet, edible nuts, which have been prized as long as humans have lived on this continent. Explorer and naturalist William Bartram described how the Creek people gathered a "hundred bushels of these nuts in their towns," and how they pounded, boiled, and strained the nuts to obtain a "hickory milk," which he said was "as sweet and rich as fresh cream" and was used in Creek cooking, "especially homony and corn cakes." (It sounds a lot like the almond milk that people drink today.) In later years, the children of pioneers would enjoy social events called "nut cracks," where hickory nuts and walnuts were cracked, shelled, and eaten.

Hickory is also prized for its aromatic wood, which burns long with little or no smoke and is used to produce high-quality charcoal. Some have contended that Missouri ought to be famous for the top-rate charcoal we produce, in large part from our many hickories. Excellent barbecue, of course, requires excellent charcoal.

Hickory wood is a favorite for smoking hams, imparting a subtle, exquisite flavor. Missouri is known internationally for our excellent country-cured smoked hams.

The tough, impact-resistant wood is made into tool handles, athletic goods, agricultural implements, baskets, and at one time, wagons, wagon wheels, and the hinges of cabin doors.

General Andrew Jackson won the admiration of his backwoods troops by sharing with them their hard lot (sleeping on the ground, eating their meager fare); they called him "Old Hickory" for his toughness.