Definition of "shellbark" [shell•bark]

• See shagbark. (noun)
• An eastern North American hickory (Carya laciniosa) having shaggy bark, pinnately compound leaves, and large, compressed, globose, reddish or yellow nuts. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• ""scalybark" to the Carolina hickory, the name "shagbark" to Carya ovata, and the name shellbark to Carya laciniosa."
• "The shellbark is a tree the best varieties of which it is difficult to learn about."
• "The names "shellbark," "shagbark" and "scalybark" are at present used interchangeably by authors for different species of the hickory."