The Pignut Hickory is a rare tree in my forest, but I have at least two huge specimens. It is distinguished from the Red Hickory by pear-shaped, smoother-husked fruits which usually only split halfway to the base. The leaves have (almost) always five leaflets (as opposed to the Red Hickory which has a mix of fives and sevens). The bark may be a little less shaggy than the Red Hickory. The first one I encountered grows right above where I park my car at the end of the access road. It is fairly small but dropped prolific nuts in 2021 and 2022 (none in 2023).
Another probable Pignut Hickory grows upslope towards the west in Lot A. Its circumference at chest height is 7ft 4.5". It had five leaflets on every leaf I could see, but I could not find a single nut on the ground.
I found another hickory tree with five leaflets per leaf (so likely a Pignut Hickory), but no nuts on the ground, in the SE section of Lot B, circumference 3ft 9.75".
There is another probable Pignut Hickory in the SE section of Lot B, circumference 4ft 10.75", a little further south from the one above.
Another nice specimen grows upslope to the north of the stream at the Lot B/C border. Circumference is 4ft 11.5".
...and finally a beautiful large specimen in the NE section of Lot C, growing very near a similar-sized Red Hickory. A few pear-shaped, smooth-husked nuts on the ground confirmed this one to be a Pignut Hickory, 7ft 5" in circumference.
Pignut Hickory fruit are shown in the first picture below, and a comparison with other hickory fruit in the second picture below.