The shagbark hickory is native to Southern Ontario, growing in a wide range of soils in zone 5 & 6. It is easily identified by the bark which sticks out and appears to be falling off, giving it a shaggy appearance and thus its name. It has a long heavy tap root and so is considered difficult to transplant. It is important to have a 60 cm taproot when moving one. Then it takes two years for the tree to recover and make good growth again. Grown from seed, it can take 10 or more years for hickory trees to start to bear. Grafted trees will begin to bear sooner.

Wild shagbark hickory trees will produce a good crop every second year and often the nuts are difficult to remove from the shell. Internal ridges add to the difficulty of removing the nut meat. A large number of selections were made in the last century. A few of them combine the good characteristic of easy kernel removal with good production. Some of the good selections for Ontario include Neilson (an Ontario selection), Weschcke, Yoder 1, Glover and Wilcox.

Shagbark Hickory

The bitternut hickory is also native to Ontario and true to its name is not edible. To the inexperienced collector, it can be confused with the shagbark. One soon learns the differences in the compound leaves, bark, husk and nut shape that matches this taste, so that this experience is not repeated.