Waitt, Damon E.
Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch
Pecan
Juglandaceae (Walnut Family)
The largest of the hickories, pecan typically grows 70-100 ft. and can reach 160 ft. It is massive-trunked, with stout branches supporting a symmetrical,
oval crown. Slate gray
bark remains smooth for years. Pinnately-compound,
deciduous leaves are 12-20 in. long with 11-17 leaflets.
Midrib of the
leaflet off center with the wider part of the
blade toward the leaf tip. Flowers inconspicuous, male in elongate clusters, both sexes on same tree.
Fruit an
oblong nut enclosed in a thin husk splitting open at maturity, husk often persistent on the
tree for weeks after the
nut has fallen.
Pecan is one of the most valuable cultivated plants originating in North America. Improved varieties with large, thin-shelled nuts are grown in plantations or orchards in the Southeast; pecans are also harvested locally from wild trees. The wood is used for furniture, flooring, veneer, and charcoal for smoking meats. The word pecan is of Algonquin origin. The Latin species name is from an old term, Illinois nuts, and refers to the region where traders found wild trees and nuts.
Native Americans may have extended the range by planting. This
tree of the Mississippi valley was unknown to British colonists on the Atlantic coast. Thomas Jefferson planted seeds at Monticello and gave some to George Washington; now these Pecans are the oldest trees in Mount Vernon.
Image Gallery:
20 photo(s) available
Bloom Information
Bloom Color: Yellow
Bloom Time: Mar , Apr , May
Distribution
USA: AL , AR , FL , GA , IL , IN , IA , KS , KY , LA , MD , MS , MO , NC , OH , OK , SC , TN , TX , VA
Native Distribution: AL to TX, n. to OH, s.e. IN, IL, s.e. IA & s.e. KS
Native Habitat: Wooded bottomlands; stream banks
USDA Native Status: L48(N) Growing Conditions
Water Use: High
Light Requirement: Sun
Soil Moisture: Moist
CaCO3 Tolerance: Low
Cold Tolerant: yes
Soil Description: Rich, moist, well-drained soils. Sandy, Sandy Loam, Medium Loam, Clay Loam, Clay, Caliche type
Conditions Comments: The sweet, edible
nut, makes pecan the best hickory for
fruit production. The
tree does not bear liberal quantities of
fruit in the northern part of its range, but makes an interesting ornamental there. Susceptible to galls,
twig girdlers, aphids, borers, weevils, pecan scab, tent caterpillars, and webworms. Slow-growing. Difficult to transplant because of a large taproot.
Benefit
Use Ornamental: Excellent
nut and shade
tree, fall conspicuous.
Use Wildlife: Fruit mammals and birds, Substrate-insectivorous birds.
Use Food: Fruits-nutrition
Use Other: Furniture, veneer for wood paneling, charcoal.
Interesting Foliage: yes
Attracts: Butterflies
Larval Host: Gray hairstreak butterfly
Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)
Carya illinoinensis is a larval host and/or nectar source for:
Last Update: 2008-06-02
