Shagbark Hickory

Carya ovata · also: shagbark hickory, caryer ovale

How to ID it

Unmistakable shaggy bark that peels away in long, curling vertical plates
Compound leaves with usually 5 leaflets (the top three larger)
Nut in a thick woody husk that splits cleanly into 4 sections when ripe
Nutshell rounded, off-white; kernel sweet like a mild pecan

Safety

No toxic lookalikes. The only confusion is bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis) — not poisonous, just an inedible waste of effort: smooth bark and a bitter kernel, versus shagbark's shaggy, peeling bark and sweet nut.
Shagbark nuts are excellent raw or roasted; sort as you crack and discard any kernel that tastes bitter or looks discoloured or wormy.

Harvest

Look up for the shaggy bark, then look down — collect fallen nuts once the husks have split. Ripe husks open into four segments and release the nut cleanly. Beat the squirrels; good nuts vanish fast in a productive year.

Prep

Peel off any remaining husk, wash, and dry the nuts a week or two. Crack with a hammer or heavy nutcracker and pick the sweet kernel from the shell. It’s one of the best wild nuts here — rich, sweet, pecan-like. Shell fragments are sharp, so sort carefully.

Notes

The inner bark makes a distinctive hickory-bark syrup: gently toast (don’t scorch) clean bark, simmer to a tea, strain, then reduce with sugar into a smoky syrup — no tapping required. Always confirm shaggy bark; bitternut looks similar from a distance but the nut is inedibly bitter.