shagbark hickory, Carya ovata

The red anthers here make this the most colorful hickory I know of. Why red, when most if not all of its relatives are green? There must be some advantage, just as there must be some strategy behind all that shaggy bark. One wonders. Shagbark grows around Andrew Jackson's grave and in AL, AR, CT, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV, ON, and QC. Lenawee Co MI, 5/7/17.