The pecan (''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of
hickory
Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mexi ...
native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
.
The tree is cultivated for its seed in the southern United States, primarily in
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
,
[ ]New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
, Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, and Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, which produces nearly half of the world total. The seed is an edible nut used as a snack and in various recipes, such as praline candy and pecan pie
Pecan pie is a pie of pecan nuts mixed with a filling of eggs, butter, and sugar (typically corn syrup). Variations may include white or brown sugar, cane syrup, sugar syrup, molasses, maple syrup, or honey. It is popularly served at holiday ...
. The pecan is the state nut of Alabama, Arkansas, California, and Texas and is also the state tree of Texas.
Name
"Pecan" is from an Algonquin
Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to:
Languages and peoples
*Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia
**Algonquin la ...
word, variously referring to pecans, walnuts, and hickory nuts. There are many pronunciations, some regional and others not.[See "]Pecan
The pecan (''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed in the southern United States, primarily in Georgia, ...
" at Wiktionary
Wiktionary ( , , rhyming with "dictionary") is a multilingual, web-based project to create a free content dictionary of terms (including words, phrases, proverbs, linguistic reconstructions, etc.) in all natural languages and in a number ...
. The most common American pronunciation is . There is little agreement in the United States regarding the "correct" pronunciation, even regionally.
Growth
The pecan tree is a large deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
tree, growing to in height, rarely to .[Flora of North America]
''Carya illinoinensis''
/ref> It typically has a spread of with a trunk up to diameter. A 10-year-old sapling grown in optimal conditions will stand about tall. The leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
are alternate, long, and pinnate
Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...
with 9–17 leaflets, each leaflet long and broad.[
A pecan, like the fruit of all other members of the hickory genus, is not truly a nut but is technically a ]drupe
In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...
, a fruit with a single stone or pit, surrounded by a husk. The husks are produced from the exocarp
Fruit anatomy is the plant anatomy of the internal structure of fruit. Fruits are the mature ovary or ovaries of one or more flowers. They are found in three main anatomical categories: aggregate fruits, multiple fruits, and simple fruits. Aggr ...
tissue of the flower, while the part known as the nut develops from the endocarp
Fruit anatomy is the plant anatomy of the internal structure of fruit. Fruits are the mature ovary or ovaries of one or more flowers. They are found in three main anatomical categories: aggregate fruits, multiple fruits, and simple fruits. Agg ...
and contains the seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
. The husk itself is aeneous, that is, brassy greenish-gold in color, oval to oblong in shape, long and broad. The outer husk is thick, starts out green, and turns brown at maturity, at which time it splits off in four sections to release the thin-shelled seed.[Oklahoma Biological Survey]
''Carya illinoinensis''
/ref>[Bioimages]
/ref>[Collingwood, G. H., Brush, W. D., & Butches, D., eds. (1964). ''Knowing your trees''. 2nd ed. American Forestry Association, Washington, DC.]
Cultivation
Pecans are one of the most recently domesticated of the major crops. Although wild pecans were well known among native and colonial Americans as a delicacy, the commercial growth of pecans in the United States did not begin until the 1880s. As of 2014, the United States produced an annual crop of , with 75% of the total crop produced in Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
and Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. They can be grown from USDA
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...
hardiness zones
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
approximately 5 to 9, and grow best where summers are long, hot and humid. The nut harvest for growers is typically around mid-October. Outside the United States, Mexico produces nearly half of the world's total, similar in volume to the United States, together accounting for 93% of global production. Generally, two or more trees of different cultivars must be present to pollinate each other.[
]
Choosing cultivars can be a complex practice, based on the Alternate Bearing Index (ABI) and their period of pollinating. Commercial growers are most concerned with the ABI, which describes a cultivar's likelihood to bear on alternating years (index of 1.0 signifies the highest likelihood of bearing little to nothing every other year). The period of pollination groups all cultivars into two families: those that shed pollen before they can receive pollen (protandrous
Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is a type of hermaphroditism that occurs in many fish, gastropods, and plants. Sequential hermaphroditism occurs when the individual changes its sex at some point in its life. In particular, ...
) and those that shed pollen after becoming receptive to pollen (protogynous
Sequential hermaphroditism (called dichogamy in botany) is a type of hermaphroditism
In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and ...
). State-level resources provide recommended varieties for specific regions.
Native pecans in Mexico are adapted from zone 9 to zone 11. Little or no breeding work has been done with these populations. A few selections from native stands have been made, such as Frutosa and Norteña, which are recommended for cultivation in Mexico. Improved varieties recommended for cultivation in Mexico are USDA-developed cultivars. This represents a gap in breeding development given that native pecans can be cultivated at least down to the Yucatán peninsula while the USDA cultivars have chilling hour requirements greater than those occurring in much of the region. Some regions of the U.S. such as parts of Florida and Puerto Rico are zone 10 or higher, and these regions have limited options for pecan cultivation. 'Western' is the only commonly available variety that can make a crop in low-chill zones.
Breeding and selection programs
Active breeding and selection is carried out by the USDA Agricultural Research Service
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). ARS is one of four agencies in USDA's Research, Education and Economics mission area. ARS is charged with ext ...
with growing locations at Brownwood and College Station, Texas
College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East-Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-northeast of Austin. ...
. University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
has a breeding program at the Tifton campus working on selecting pecan varieties adapted to subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...
southeastern U.S.
The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the south ...
growing conditions.
While selection work has been done since the late 19th century, most acreage of pecans grown today is of older cultivars, such as 'Stuart', 'Schley', 'Elliott', and 'Desirable', with known flaws but also with known production potential. Cultivars such as 'Elliot' are increasing in popularity due to resistance to pecan scab
Pecan scab is the most economically significant disease of pecan trees (''Carya illinoinensis'') in the southeastern United States.Sanderlin, R. S. (n.d.). Pecan scab disease. Retrieved from http://www.lsuagcenter.com/NR/rdonlyres/A30CB512-CDB1-4DF ...
. The long cycle time for pecan trees plus financial considerations dictate that new varieties go through an extensive vetting process before being widely planted. Numerous varieties produce well in Texas but fail in the Southeastern U.S. due to increased disease pressure. Selection programs are ongoing at the state level, with Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, and others having trial plantings.
Varieties adapted from the southern tier of states north through some parts of Iowa and even into southern Canada are available from nurseries. Production potential drops significantly when planted further north than Tennessee. Most breeding efforts for northern-adapted varieties have not been on a large enough scale to significantly affect production. Varieties that are available and adapted (e.g., 'Major', 'Martzahn', 'Witte', 'Greenriver', 'Mullahy', and 'Posey') in zones 6 and farther north are almost entirely selections from wild stands. Kanza, a northern-adapted release from the USDA breeding program, is a grafted pecan having high productivity and quality, and cold tolerance.
Diseases, pests, and disorders
Pecans are subject to various diseases, pests, and physiological disorders that can limit tree growth and fruit production. These range from scab to hickory shuckworm to shuck decline.
Pecans are prone to infection by bacteria and fungi such as pecan scab
Pecan scab is the most economically significant disease of pecan trees (''Carya illinoinensis'') in the southeastern United States.Sanderlin, R. S. (n.d.). Pecan scab disease. Retrieved from http://www.lsuagcenter.com/NR/rdonlyres/A30CB512-CDB1-4DF ...
, especially in humid conditions. Scab is the most destructive disease affecting pecan trees, untreated with fungicides. Recommendations for preventive spray materials and schedules are available from state-level resources.
Various insects feed on the leaves, stems, and developing nuts. These include ambrosia beetles
Ambrosia beetles are beetles of the weevil subfamilies Scolytinae and Platypodinae (Coleoptera, Curculionidae), which live in nutritional symbiosis with ambrosia fungi. The beetles excavate tunnels in dead, stressed, and healthy trees in which th ...
, twig girdlers, pecan nut casebearer
''Acrobasis nuxvorella'', the pecan nut casebearer, is a moth of the family Pyralidae described by Herbert H. Neunzig in 1970.phylloxera
Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belong to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs ...
, curculio
''Curculio'' is a genus of weevils belonging the family Curculionidae and subfamily Curculioninae. Members of the genus are commonly referred to as acorn weevils or nut weevils as they infest the seeds of trees such as oaks and hickories. The ...
, weevils, and several aphid species.
In the Southeastern United States, nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...
deficiency in ''C. illinoinensis'' produces a disorder called "mouse-ear" in trees fertilized with urea
Urea, also known as carbamide, is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest amide of carbamic acid.
Urea serves an important r ...
. Similarly, zinc deficiency causes rosetting of the leaves. Various other disorders are documented, including canker
A plant canker is a small area of dead tissue, which grows slowly, often over years. Some cankers are of only minor consequence, but others are ultimately lethal and therefore can have major economic implications for agriculture and horticultur ...
disease and shuck decline complex.
Uses
Pecan seeds are edible, with a rich, buttery flavor. They can be eaten fresh or used in cooking, particularly in sweet desserts, such as pecan pie
Pecan pie is a pie of pecan nuts mixed with a filling of eggs, butter, and sugar (typically corn syrup). Variations may include white or brown sugar, cane syrup, sugar syrup, molasses, maple syrup, or honey. It is popularly served at holiday ...
, a traditional Southern U.S. dish. Butter pecan
Butter pecan is a flavor, prominent especially in the United States, in ice cream, cakes, and cookies. Roasted pecans, butter, and vanilla flavor are used in butter pecan baked goods. Butter pecan ice cream is smooth vanilla ice cream with a sli ...
is also a common flavor in cookies, cakes, and ice creams. Pecans are a significant ingredient in American praline candy. Other applications of cooking with pecans include pecan oil
Pecan oil is an edible pressed oil extracted from the pecan nut. Pecan oil is neutral in flavor and takes on the flavor of whatever seasoning is being used with it. Pecan oil contains 9.5% saturated fat, which is less than in olive oil (13.5%), pea ...
and pecan butter.
Pecan wood is used in making furniture and wood flooring, as well as flavoring fuel for smoking meats, giving grilled foods a sweet and nutty flavor stronger than many fruit woods.
Nutrition
A pecan nut is 4% water, 72% fat, 9% protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
, and 14% carbohydrate
In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or ma ...
s (see table). In a 100 g reference amount, pecans provide 690 calorie
The calorie is a unit of energy. For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of on ...
s and are a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value
The Reference Daily Intake (RDI) used in nutrition labeling on food and dietary supplement products in the U.S. and Canada is the daily intake level of a nutrient that is considered to be sufficient to meet the requirements of 97–98% of health ...
, DV) of dietary fiber
Dietary fiber (in British English fibre) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical composition, and can be grouped generally by the ...
(38% DV), manganese
Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...
(214% DV), magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...
(34% DV), phosphorus
Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...
(40% DV), zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
(48% DV), and thiamine
Thiamine, also known as thiamin and vitamin B1, is a vitamin, an essential micronutrient, that cannot be made in the body. It is found in food and commercially synthesized to be a dietary supplement or medication. Phosphorylated forms of thi ...
(57% DV) (table). Pecans are a moderate source (10-19% DV) of iron and B vitamins
B vitamins are a class of water-soluble vitamins that play important roles in cell metabolism and synthesis of red blood cells. Though these vitamins share similar names (B1, B2, B3, etc.), they are chemically distinct compounds that often coexist ...
. Pecan fat content consists principally of monounsaturated fat
Monounsaturated fats are fatty acids that have one double bond in the fatty acid chain with all of the remainder carbon atoms being single-bonded. By contrast, polyunsaturated fats have more than one double bond.
Molecular description
Fatty aci ...
ty acids, mainly oleic acid
Oleic acid is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is an odorless, colorless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish. In chemical terms, oleic acid is classified as a monounsaturated omega ...
(57% of total fat), and the polyunsaturated fat
Polyunsaturated fats are fats in which the constituent hydrocarbon chain possesses two or more carbon–carbon double bonds. Polyunsaturated fat can be found mostly in nuts, seeds, fish, seed oils, and oysters. "Unsaturated" refers to the fact tha ...
ty acid, linoleic acid
Linoleic acid (LA) is an organic compound with the formula COOH(CH2)7CH=CHCH2CH=CH(CH2)4CH3. Both alkene groups are cis-trans isomerism, ''cis''. It is a fatty acid sometimes denoted 18:2 (n-6) or 18:2 ''cis''-9,12. A linoleate is a salt (chem ...
(30% of total fat).
Evolutionary development
The pecan, ''Carya illinoinensis'', is a member of the Juglandaceae
The Juglandaceae are a plant family known as the walnut family. They are trees, or sometimes shrubs, in the order Fagales. Members of this family are native to the Americas, Eurasia, and Southeast Asia.
The nine or ten genera in the family have ...
family. Juglandaceae are represented worldwide by seven and ten extant genera and more than 60 species. Most of these species are concentrated in the Northern Hemisphere of the New World, but some can be found on every continent except for Antarctica. The first fossil examples of the family appear during the Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
. Differentiation between the subfamilies of Engelhardioideae and Juglandioideae occurred during the early Paleogene
The Paleogene ( ; British English, also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period, geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million yea ...
, about 64 million years ago. Extant examples of Engelhardioideae are generally tropical and evergreen, while those of Juglandioideae are deciduous and found in more temperate zones. The second major step in the development of pecan was a change from wind-dispersed fruits to animal dispersion. This dispersal strategy coincides with developing a husk around the fruit and a drastic change in the relative concentrations of fatty acids. The ratio of oleic to linoleic acids is inverted between wind- and animal-dispersed seeds. Further differentiation from other species of Juglandaceae occurred about 44 million years ago during the Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
. The fruits of the pecan genus ''Carya'' differ from those of the walnut genus ''Juglans'' only in the formation of the husk of the fruit. The husks of walnuts develop from the bracts, bracteoles, and sepals, or sepals only. The husks of pecans develop from the bracts and the bracteoles only.
History
Before European settlement, pecans were widely consumed and traded by Native Americans. As a wild forage, the fruit of the previous growing season is commonly still edible when found on the ground.
Pecans first became known to Europeans in the 16th century. The first Europeans to come into contact with pecans were Spanish explorers in what is now Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, and Mexico. These Spanish explorers called the pecan, ''nuez de la arruga'', which roughly translates to "wrinkle nut". Because of their familiarity with the genus ''Juglans
Walnut trees are any species of tree in the plant genus ''Juglans'', the type genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are referred to as walnuts. All species are deciduous trees, tall, with pinnate leaves , with 5–25 leaflets; t ...
'', these early explorers referred to the nuts as ''nogales'' and ''nueces'', the Spanish terms for "walnut trees" and "fruit of the walnut". They noted the particularly thin shell and acorn-like shape of the fruit, indicating they were referring to pecans. The Spaniards took the pecan into Europe, Asia, and Africa in the 16th century. In 1792, William Bartram
William Bartram (April 20, 1739 – July 22, 1823) was an American botanist, ornithologist, natural historian and explorer. Bartram was the author of an acclaimed book, now known by the shortened title ''Bartram's Travels'', which chronicled ...
reported in his botanical book, ''Travels'', a nut tree, ''Juglans exalata'' that some botanists today argue was the American pecan tree. Still, others argue hickory, ''Carya ovata''. Pecan trees are native to the United States, and writing about the pecan tree goes back to the nation's founders. Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
planted pecan trees, ''C. illinoinensis'' (Illinois nuts), in his nut orchard at his home, Monticello, in Virginia. George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
reported in his journal that Thomas Jefferson gave him "Illinois nuts", pecans, which Washington then grew at Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...
, his Virginia home.
Commercial production of pecans was slow because trees were slow to mature and bear fruit. More importantly, the trees grown from the nuts of one tree have very diverse characters. To speed nut production and retain the best tree characteristics, grafting
Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The succ ...
from mature, productive trees was the apparent strategy. However, this proved technically challenging. The ''Centennial'' cultivar was the first to be successfully grafted. This was accomplished by an enslaved person called Antoine in 1846 or 1847, who was owned by Jacques Telesphore Roman
Jacques Telesphore Roman (March 22, 1800 – April 11, 1848) was a 19th-century Louisiana businessman, sugar planter, and builder of the Oak Alley Plantation.
Early years
Born near Opelousas, Louisiana, the son of Jacques Etienne Roman of Gr ...
of the Oak Alley Plantation
Oak Alley Plantation is a historic plantation located on the west bank of the Mississippi River, in the community of Vacherie, St. James Parish, Louisiana, U.S. ''Oak Alley'' is named for its distinguishing visual feature, an alley (French ...
near the Mississippi River. The scions were supplied by Dr. A. E. Colomb, who had unsuccessfully attempted to graft them.
Genetics
Pecan is a 32-chromosome species (1N = 16) that readily hybridizes with other 32-chromosome members of the ''Carya
Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mexi ...
'' genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
, such as ''Carya ovata
''Carya ovata'', the shagbark hickory, is a common hickory in the Eastern United States and southeast Canada. It is a large, deciduous tree, growing well over tall, and can live more than 350 years. The tallest measured shagbark, located in Sav ...
'', ''Carya laciniosa
''Carya laciniosa'', the shellbark hickory, in the Juglandaceae or walnut family is also called kingnut, big, bottom, thick, or western shellbark, attesting to some of its characteristics. It is a slow-growing, long-lived tree, hard to transpla ...
'', ''Carya cordiformis
''Carya cordiformis'', the bitternut hickory, also called bitternut or swamp hickory, is a large pecan hickory with commercial stands located mostly north of the other pecan hickories. Bitternut hickory is cut and sold in mixture with the true h ...
'' and has been reported to hybridize with 64-chromosome species such as ''Carya tomentosa
''Carya tomentosa'', (mockernut hickory, mockernut, white hickory, whiteheart hickory, hognut, bullnut) is a tree in the Juglandaceae or walnut family. The most abundant of the hickories, common in the eastern half of the US, it is long lived, ...
''. Most such hybrids are unproductive. Hybrids are referred to as "hican
A hican is a tree resulting from a cross between a pecan and some other type of hickory (members of the genus ''Carya'') - or the nut from such a hybrid tree.
Such crosses often occur naturally while most such hybrids produce unfilled nuts or ha ...
s" to indicate their hybrid origin. Recent efforts at NMSU to complete a pecan genome showed that DNA introgressed from C. Aquatica (water hickory), C. Myristiciformis (nutmeg hickory), and C. Cordiformis (bitternut hickory) is present in commercial pecan varieties grown today.
Symbolism
In 1919, the 36th Texas Legislature made the pecan tree the state tree
This is a list of U.S. state, federal district, and territory trees, including official trees of the following of the states, of the federal district, and of the territories.
Table
See also
* List of U.S. state, district, and territorial insign ...
of Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
; in 2001, the pecan was declared the state's official "health nut", and in 2013, pecan pie was made the state's official pie. The town of San Saba, Texas
San Saba is a city located in, and the county seat of, San Saba County, Texas, United States. It was settled in 1854 and named for its location on the San Saba River. Its population was 3,099 at the 2010 census.
Geography
San Saba is located a ...
claims to be "The Pecan Capital of the World" and is the site of the "Mother Tree" () considered to be the source of the state's production through its progeny. Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
named the pecan the official state nut in 1982. Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
adopted it as the official nut in 2009. California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
adopted it, along with the almond
The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...
, pistachio
The pistachio (, ''Pistacia vera''), a member of the cashew family, is a small tree originating from Central Asia and the Middle East. The tree produces seeds that are widely consumed as food.
''Pistacia vera'' is often confused with other sp ...
, and walnut
A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''.
Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...
, as one of four state nuts in 2017. In 1988, Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
enacted an official state meal which included pecan pie.
Gallery
File:Carya illinoinensis bud.jpg, Bud
File:Cluster of young pecan.jpg, Immature pecan fruits
File:Pecan-nuts-on-tree.jpg, Ripe pecan nuts on tree
File:Carya illinoinensis MHNT.BOT.2011.3.85.jpg, ''Carya illinoinensis'', MHNT
File:Pecans.jpg, Shelled and unshelled pecans
File:Pecan halves with centimeter scale.jpg, Pecan halves
File:PecanPie.JPG, Pecan pie
Pecan pie is a pie of pecan nuts mixed with a filling of eggs, butter, and sugar (typically corn syrup). Variations may include white or brown sugar, cane syrup, sugar syrup, molasses, maple syrup, or honey. It is popularly served at holiday ...
File:Pecan tree full of fruit.jpg, Pecan tree in Oklahoma loaded with fruits
References
External links
''Carya illinoinensis'' images
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
{{Taxonbar, from=Q333877
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