The female flowers are unnoticeable and grow in spiked clusters towards the end of the growth. Both male and female flowers are produced on the same tree. In some kinds, the husk is thin and splits partially open and in others, the husk is thick and splits at the base at maturity. The nuts ripen in October and fall from the trees. Several varieties of Carya have edible nuts, though the Pecan nut is by far the most important kind.
Improved varieties are easy to eat out of the shell and large amounts are used in cooking.
The Pecan, C. Pecan, may grow up to 150 feet high in the South. It makes a wonderful shade tree in the Northeast even though the nuts don t mature there. In fruit-producing regions, the trees produce their first crop of nuts four to seven years after planting. The pecans will fall to the ground when they're ripe in the fall. The wood of the Shagbark, Pignut and Mockernut Hickory is tough and resilient and is especially valued in the manufacture of certain tools and implements, ax handles and baseball bats.