Common Plants And Crops Codexery

Pecan

A drupe disguised as a nut, native to the south-central U.S. and northern Mexico.

Last updated

It is a large deciduous tree that can reach 20 to 40 m in height, with a trunk up to 2 m in diameter.[1] The pecan is the only major tree nut that grows naturally in North America.[2]

Scientific classification

  1. CladeTracheophytes
  2. CladeAngiosperms
  3. CladeEudicots
  4. CladeRosids
  5. OrderFagales
  6. FamilyJuglandaceae
  7. GenusCarya
  8. GenusCarya
  9. SpeciesCarya illinoinensis

Named by (Wangenh.) K.Koch

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Pecan (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Conservation status

Least Concern (LC)

  1. LC▲ this species
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2018

Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category

Quick Facts

Genus
Carya
Species
illinoinensis

Facts from the source article.

Biology and range

The tree prefers moist, well-drained, rich soils that are not subject to frequent flooding.[3] The pecan is a 32-chromosome species that readily hybridizes with other 32-chromosome members of the Carya genus.[4] The south-central U.S. is the original home of the pecan tree, though its range has expanded because people cultivate it.[5] Botanically, the fruit is classified as a drupe, containing a single pit enclosed by a husk.[6]

Green initially, the outer husk becomes brown when ripe and then separates into four sections.[6] Seeds dispersed by wind versus those dispersed by animals show an opposite ratio of oleic to linoleic acids.[7]

What the specialist sources record

The Flora of North America account describes the terminal buds as yellowish brown, oblong, 6-12 mm, hirsute, and scaly.[8] The same source notes that the fruits are dark brown, ovoid-ellipsoid, 2.5-6 × 1.5-3 cm, with rough husks 3-4 mm thick.[8] The Hudson Pecan Company history states that the name "pecan" is a Native American word of Algonquin origin used to describe "all nuts requiring a stone to crack".[2] The San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance account reports that pecan trees can live for over one thousand years and produce nuts for several hundred years.[9]

The Agricultural Marketing Resource Center states that the United States is the top producer of pecans, with Georgia leading the nation in production.[10] The same source notes that fresh pecans are said to have the highest antioxidant content of all tree nuts.[10] The Flora of North America account reports that Native Americans used pecan medicinally as a dermatological aid and as a remedy for tuberculosis.[8]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Pecan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Carya illinoinensis in Flora of North America @ efloras.org", www.efloras.org (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. "History Of The Pecan", Hudson Pecan Company. facts only, no text reused. hudsonpecan.com
  3. Wikipedia, "Pecan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Weakley, A. S. (2015). Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Chapel Hill, NC, University of North Carolina Herbarium.; Moore, L. M. (2006). Plant Guide: Pecan Carya illinoinensis. N.R.C.S. United States Department of Agriculture. Baton Rouge, LA. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Pecan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Grauke, "Pecan, C. illinoenensis"; Randall, "Four Chromosome Scale Genomes, C. illinoenensis", Nature Communications, 5 July 2021, p. 4125 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Pecan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Weakley, A. S. (2015). Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Chapel Hill, NC, University of North Carolina Herbarium. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Pecan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Carya illinoinensis in Flora of North America @ efloras.org", www.efloras.org; "Carya illinoinensis, pecan", Oklahoma Biological Survey; "Carya fruits (hickory nuts)", Vanderbilt University, 2004-08-19; Collingwood, G. H., Brush, W. D., & Butches, D., eds. (1964). Knowing your trees. 2nd ed. American Forestry Association, Washington, DC. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Pecan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Donald E. Stone, "New World Juglandaceae. II. Hickory Nut Oils, Phenetic Similarities, and Evolutionary Implications in the Genus Carya", American Journal of Botany, 1969, p. 928–935; Manos, "Evolution, Phylogeny, and Systematics of Juglandaceae", Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 2001, p. 231–269 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. "Carya illinoinensis in Flora of North America @ efloras.org", www.efloras.org. facts only, no text reused. efloras.org
  9. "For the Love of Trees: Pecan - San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance", 2020-11-01. facts only, no text reused. smgreenbelt.org
  10. "Pecans", Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, August 2015. facts only, no text reused. agmrc.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Pecan (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Named in this entry

HickoryJuglandaceae

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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