JUGLANDACEAE - - Walnut Family

Carya illinoensis (Wangenheim) K. Koch — Pecan

Pecan (Carya illinoensis or illinoinensis) - Everyone is familiar with pecan, but some do not realize that it is a hickory. It is, evidently, not native to Georgia but, of course, has been cultivated extensively for nut production, also as an ornamental tree and has become thoroughly naturalized. The leaves usually have 11-19 leaflets that are curved (scythe shaped); twigs are light brown and hairy when young, with numerous, elongated pale pores; end buds are valvate, yellow-brown, hairy. The fruit is an ellipsoidal nut from 1 1/2" to 2 1/2" long, smooth or slightly 4-ridged, enclosed in a thin husk, 4-winged from base to apex, borne in clusters of 3 to 12. The nut is cylindric, nearly round in cross-section, light-brown to reddish-brown, often with irregular black markings, shell thin, seed oily, sweet.

Habitat:

Bottomlands, eastward persistent around dwellings and in pecan orchards, escaped to suburban woodlands, rural forest edges and floodplains, commonly cultivated. Native to the sc. United States, now more widespread in the se. United States as a result of cultivation.

Habitat information from:
Weakley, Alan S., Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, Working Draft of 21 May 2015.

The native range of Carya illinoensis (Pecan)

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)].

The native range of Carya illinoensis (Pecan)

Zomlefer, W.B., J.R. Carter, & D.E. Giannasi. 2014 (and ongoing). The Atlas of Georgia Plants. University of Georgia Herbarium (Athens, Georgia) and Valdosta State University Herbarium (Valdosta, Georgia). Available at: http://www.georgiaherbaria.org/.