I will try and get better pics.it looks like a red or black oak to me. I'd need to see the rest of the tree including the edges of the branches to be sure, but the bark pattern and the leaves tell me it is an oak.
Thanks. I will take some more pics when it leaves out.Picture this says it's a Mockernut Hickory, also known as Hognut, Bullnut, White, or Whiteheart Hickory. Picture this is not always perfect, and usually does better with leaves.
If you can zoom in, there are hulls on the right of the tree. I should be over there tonight, I will take some more pics and look around.If it's a walnut tree it should have walnuts on the ground around it.
That is a hickory nut hull. Walnuts will be much bigger and if they've been laying around, they'll stain your hands black. I don't believe deer eat hickory nuts but the squirrels will love them.
Pretty sure it isn't a shell bark because there are a few of those in the same area and they look much different.Hickory for sure. Shellbark? I'm not too familiar with all of them, but that bark doesn't look like any of ours.
That's awesome. I'm impressed. My wife and kids love maple syrup, this seems like a reasonable alternative with some sources we can find on our own land.Mockernut... from a 'game' standpoint, are mostly only gonna feed squirrels and mice. I suppose bears might eat them, but we don't have them here.
I have no idea what value they have, from a timber harvest standpoint.
You can make 'hickory syrup' from the mockernut nuts (and toss in a few husks, for more color).
I generally make mine from shagbark/shellbark nutshells left over after cracking & picking out the kernels, but historically, it was made by peeling strips of bark off shagbark trees, boiling it, adding sugar and cooking down. Tastes like maple syrup - only better!
I cook my nutshell pieces in a crockpot for abotu 24 hrs, strain through an old t-shirt, then add 1.5 cups sugar per cup of 'liquor'. Cook it down for about an hour, then decant into canning jars; I usually cook a few intact nuts and include one in each jar.
I'm sure mockernut nuts, cracked with a hammer or vise-grips, and cooked down, would make great syrup, maybe with richer flavor than shagbark bark or nutshells. I have tossed a few mockernut nuts into a batch of shells I was cooking down, in the past, but I usually don't bother gathering mockernuts.