Hi, my name is Val and I'm a volunteer here
at Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
and the large tree behind me is a Shagbark
Hickory.
Carya ovata is its name.
We don't know exactly when it was planted
but we do have a picture that John Charles Olmsted,
Frederick Sr.'s oldest son, took
in 1911 so we know it was here then and it
was a pretty good size tree.
You can see looking at it why it's called a Shagbark Hickory,
the bark is extremely shaggy.
It does develop hickory nuts.
Unfortunately we don't tend to get any of
them because the critters, mostly the squirrels,
tend to get them and eat them all.
But they do fall down on our heads sometimes
And then when the nuts are falling as they are right now in early August
we have to sweep this area and also the steps going
down into The Hollow because it is really a hazard.
So, that's the Shagbark Hickory!
