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| ## pecan {#pecan .Title-Header}                                       |
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| *Carya illinoinensis* (Wangenh.) K. Koch                              |
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| Plant Symbol = CAIL2                                                  |
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*Contributed By: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center*

# Alternate Names

Sweet pecan, Illinois nut, faux hickory, pecan hickory, pecan nut, pecan
tree

# Uses

*Economic:* Pecan trees produce edible nuts that have a high percentage
of fat and are used extensively in candies and cookies (Stephens 1973).
These nuts are sweet and delicious and are often added to bread, cake,
and ice cream. The oil from the rejected nuts is used for cooking and
cosmetics. Milk can be made from the seed and is used to thicken soups
and season corn cakes (Facciola 1990). The wood has occasionally been
used for flooring, furniture, cabinetry, paneling, and agriculture
implements.

*Medicinal*: Pecan was used by the Comanche as a treatment for ringworm.
They would pulverize the leaves and rubbed them on the infected part of
the ringworm. The Kiowa would consume a decoction made from the bark of
pecan for tuberculosis (Moerman 1998).

*Wildlife*: Seedling and lower branches of older pecan trees are browsed
heavily by white-tailed deer. Many birds, opossums, raccoons, and
squirrels eat pecan nuts. This tree provides cover for a variety of
birds and mammals in the forests of southeastern United States.

*Agroforestry*: Pecan trees are valuable species in alley cropping
systems. An agricultural crop is grown simultaneously with a long-term
tree crop to provide annual income while the tree crop matures. Fine
hardwoods, such as pecan trees, are planted side by side in alleys, or
strips in alley cropping systems and can potentially provide high value
logs for lumber or veneer.

# Status

# Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant's current status, such as, state noxious status and wetland indicator values. 

# 

# Description

*General*: Walnut Family (Junglandaceae). Pecan is a native, medium to
large sized deciduous tree ranging from 100-140 feet. The leaves are
alternate, pinnately compound, ten to twenty inches long, eleven to
seventeen leaflets that are four to eight inches long (Harrar & Harrar
1962). The flowers are unisexual, both sexes are borne in separate
clusters on the same tree. The fruit is thin-shelled nuts; four winged
from base to apex, borne in clusters of three to twelve (Ibid.). A ridge
is formed where the two halves of the outer fruit come together. The
fruit is dark brown in color and covered with yellow scales. The husk is
thin and brittle. The husk often persists on the branch into the winter
after dropping the nut. The nut is thin shelled with a reddish-brown
color and pointed at both ends. The bark is grayish brown or light brown
and is flat ridged and shallowly furrowed.

*Distribution*: Pecan is native from Iowa to Indiana to Alabama, Texas
and Mexico (Dirr 1990). This tree follows the river basins very closely,
principally along the Mississippi and its tributaries, the Colorado
River in Texas, and along some of its tributaries in Mexico. For current
distribution, please consult the Plant profile page for this species on
the PLANTS Web site.

# Adaptation

Pecan trees commonly grow on rich, moist, well-drained soils that are
not subject to prolonged flooding. It appears near river bottoms and on
heavy textured soil. This species grows in a humid climate usually
appearing with sweet gum, water oak, poplars, honey locust, and American
elm. It grows best where summer temperatures average 24-30º C. Pecan is
susceptible to fire damage due to the low insulating capacity of the
bark. Post-fire re-colonization occurs via seeds carried to the site by
animals and water.

# Establishment

*Propagation from Seed*: Seeds are best sown in a cold frame as soon as
they are ripe. Pecan seeds show delayed germination and require a period
of cold stratification. Seeds should be stratified at 36-41º F for
thirty to sixty days and then followed by incubation at room
temperature. The seedlings should be transplanted when they are large
enough to handle and planted in deep pots to accommodate the taproot.
Put the plants in their permanent positions as soon as possible,
preferable during the first summer, and give them some protection from
the cold for the first winter (Sheat 1948). Pecan requires a frost-free
period of 6 to 9 months for nuts to be produced and mature. The trees
require 1 to 2 inches of rain per week during the growing season.

*Propogation by root sprouting*: Nuts sown in the fall are subjected to
the necessary cold stratification and will germinate in the spring in
moist soils. Pecan can also be propagated through root sprouting, but
does not respond well to transplanting. Pecan trees prefer deep, moist
soils, in full sun.

# Management

The best time to plant pecan trees is during the months of December,
January, and February. The hole should preferable be dug six or eight
inches wider than extended lateral roots and eight inches deeper than
the length of the taproot. Very little pruning is needed since pecan
trees form a natural, vase shaped canopy. Remove only diseased, dead, or
broken limbs on a regular basis.

Pecan trees are susceptible to a variety of insects, pests and diseases.
It is best to establish a good disease and insect control program to
protect this species. Grown in its native habitat and using local seed
stock, pecan should not be prone to debilitating pests. Pecan often
suffers from zinc deficiency. To compensate for this the trees should be
sprayed every 2 to 4 weeks in the spring and early summer with zinc
sulfate. Soil tests will ensure the proper amount of zinc sulfate is
applied.

# Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

Materials are readily available for commercial seed sources. Contact
your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil
Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone
book under "United States Government." The Natural Resources
Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading "Department of
Agriculture."

# References

Britton, N.L. 1908. *North American trees*. Henry Holt & Company, New
York, New York.

Brown, C.A. 1965. *Louisiana trees and shrubs*. Claitor's Bookstore,
Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Brown, C.L. & L.K. Kirkman 1990. *Trees of Georgia and adjacent states*.
Timber Press, Portland, Oregon.

Carlson, G.G. & V.H. Jones 1940. *Some notes on uses of plants by the
Comanche Indians*. Papers of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and
Letters 25:517-542.

Correl, D.S. & M.C. Johnston 1970. *Manual of the vascular plants of
Texas*. Texas Research Foundation, Renner, Texas. 1881 pp.

Dirr, M.A. 1997 *Dirr's hardy trees and shrubs: an illustrated
encyclopedia*. Timber Press, Inc., Portland, Oregon.

Dirr, M.A. 1990. *Manual of woody landscape plants: their
identification, ornamental characteristics, culture, propagation, and
uses*. 4^th^ ed. Stipes Publishing Co., Champaigne, Illinois.

Floridata.com LC. 2002. [www.floridata.com](http://www.floridata.com/)

Facciola, S. 1990. *Cornucopia-a source book of edible plants*. Kampong
Publications.

Great Plains Flora Association 1986. *Flora of the Great Plains.*
University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 1392 pp.

Harlow, W.M., E.S. Harrar, J.W. Hardin, & F.M. White 1996. *Textbook of
dendrology*. 8^th^ edition. McGraw-Hill Inc., New York, New York. 534pp.

Harrar, E.S. & J.G. Harrar 1962. *Guide to southern trees*. 2^nd^ ed.
Dover Publications, Inc., New York, New York.

Hunter, C.G. 1995. *Trees, shrubs, and vines of Arkansas*. 2^nd^ ed. The
Ozark Society Foundation, Little Rock, Arkansas.

Lemmon, R.S. 1952. *The best loved trees of America*. The American
Garden Guild and Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York.

Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium Staff 1976. *Hortus Third*. Macmillan
Publishing Company. 1290 pp.

Moerman, D. 1998. *Native American ethnobotany*. Timber Press, Oregon.

Moerman, D.E. 1999. *Native American ethnobotany database: Foods, drugs,
dyes and fibers of native North American peoples*. The University of
Michigan-Dearborn. <http://www.umd.umich.edu/cgi-bin/herb>

Preston, R.J. Jr. 1948. *North American trees*. 2^nd^ ed. The Iowa State
College Press, Ames, Iowa.

Preston, R.J. Jr. 1989. *North American trees*. 4^th^ ed. Iowa State
University Press, Ames, Iowa.

Sheat, W.G. 1948. *Propagation of trees, shrubs, and conifers*.
MacMillan & Company.

## 

USDA Forest Service 2001. Fire effects information system. Rocky
Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Boise, Idaho.
<http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/carill/index.html>

# Prepared By

#### Lincoln M. Moore

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

### *Matthew Hurteau*

Formerly USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, c/o Environmental
Horticulture Department, Davis, California

# Species Coordinator

### *M. Kat Anderson*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, c/o Plant Science Department,
Davis, California

Edited: 29jan03 jsp; 09jun03 ahv; 31may06 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA\'s [TARGET
Center](http://www.usda.gov/oo/target.htm) at 202-720-2600 (voice and
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*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
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*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
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