# Butternut or bitternut



## weiland13 (Sep 11, 2011)

May be a silly question but here goes.  What are the easiest ways to destinguish between butternut and bitternut hickory?  I am located in central Wisconsin.  I was cutting up what I thought was butternut ( it was very heavy wood but i assumed it was because it was green) about a month ago.  Once I discovered the relative poor quality of this wood vs other species available, I passed this up.  Later that week I was talking to a log truck driver and noticed he had a bunch of what I thought was butternut.  He told me he was hauling hickory for his firewood.  I was certain that this was butternut from earlier research.  Based on what the truck driver said, I am not positive anymore.  I have pictures but they were taken on an iPod.  I could email them to someone, but if there is an accurate way to distinguish between the two, I would love to know.


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## krex1010 (Sep 11, 2011)

Bitternut is a hickory butternut is not ( it sounded to me like you think both are types of hickory.) .  Butternut is fairly similar to walnut.  Never burned butternut but I am assuming it's a middle of the road species as far as firewood goes, just like walnut.  Bitternut hickory is excellent firewood.  Butternut has larger nuts than a bitternut lol


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## Thistle (Sep 11, 2011)

Butternut is very light weight & soft textured.Color is light  brown/fawn or tannish with a silverish cast.Grain pattern & pores are very similar to Black Walnut,just much softer & lighter in weight.Very similar to Eastern White Pine in density.Bitternut (and any other of the Hickories) are very hard & heavy,almost twice as much weight & many times harder.

They are distant cousins,in the Walnut family,only thing that makes them even remotely alike.

Butternut is too scarce & valuable to be considered as a fuel,its threatened or endangered in its entire range because of a fungus disease,Butternut Canker.


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## weiland13 (Sep 12, 2011)

Thank you very much Krex and Thistle.  I do know that butternut is not a hickory.  Trying to ID based on internet pictures was difficult, especialy now without any leaves to look at.  These were trees that were down because of wind not choice.  By the information and advise, it appears it is probably bitternut or something similar, but definately not butternut.  This wood is dense and heavy.  The bark is smooth.  These trees were probably around 10"-12" on the stump.


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## Backwoods Savage (Sep 12, 2011)

Welcome to the forum weiland13.

PM sent.


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## golfandwoodnut (Sep 12, 2011)

What I found in my research is that there are about 10 kinds of Hickory also.


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## Backwoods Savage (Sep 13, 2011)

Here is the picture. Doesn't look like hickory but maybe things are different across the pond. Different trees for different bees.


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## EatenByLimestone (Sep 13, 2011)

Was the tree live or not when you were cutting it up.  Were you able to see the leaves?


Matt


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## weiland13 (Sep 13, 2011)

These trees were living but were knocked down by a storm.  There were around 10 trees with the tops broke off.  There are quite a few trees like these in this forest.  The leaves were similar to bitternut and the trees had small nuts on them.  This was about 1-1/2 months ago.  I will try to get back down there and get pictures of the leaves.


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## Thistle (Sep 13, 2011)

Could be either young Shagbark (that has smoothish bark for 20-30yrs or so depending on how fast it grows) or Bitternut Hickory,even nearly mature trees have smoother bark.Shagbark & Shellbark starts to separate into those plates,eventually loose at both ends at anywhere from 30 to 50 yrs of age.


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## DBoon (Sep 14, 2011)

It's fall and the nuts are ready - just grab a nut off the tree or off the ground, crack it open, and eat the nutmeat.  Bitternut Hickory nuts are called "bitter" nut for a reason - they are equivalent, it seems to me, to pouring a few tablespoons of quinine in your mouth.  

From the photos, it looks like Hickory to me, not Butternut.


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