OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fagales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Carya illinoinensis   FAMILY Juglandaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Carya illinoinensis   FAMILY Juglandaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Carya illinoinensis

SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT) VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 053-02-002:

Carya illinoensis   FAMILY Juglandaceae

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Hicoria pecan

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Hicoria texana

 

COMMON NAME:
Pecan


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

Ron Lance    jkm110219_651

        

Note variation in husk thickness & dehiscence, and nut shape, size & sweetness.

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905)    mtna_i_210

        

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide    pnd_cail2_004_lvd

        

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_hipe_001_lvd

        

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_carya_illinoensis_3

January        

Bark brownish, in scaly plates, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

JK Marlow    jkm080204_020

February    Greenville County    SC

The spelling of the specific epithet has been a source of controversy, per Weakley's Flora.

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

Gill Newberry    gn04_c_illinoensis_male_c

April        

Staminate flowers in prominent cylindrical catkins, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

JK Marlow    jkm210406_9141

April    Greenville County    SC

Blackwell Heritage Preserve

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

JK Marlow    jkm210413_9536

April    Greenville County    SC

Blackwell Heritage Preserve

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

JK Marlow    jkm210413_9538

April    Greenville County    SC

Blackwell Heritage Preserve

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

JK Marlow    jkm130513_958

May    Spartanburg County    SC

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

JK Marlow    s040529_g

May    Oconee County    SC

Field

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

JK Marlow    s040529_h

May    Oconee County    SC

Field

Leaves with 9-17 leaflets, often having long curved (falcate) tips, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_carya_illinoensis

June        

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

JK Marlow    jkm080816_030

August    Greenville County    SC

Leaf lower surfaces pale and soft-pubescent, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

JK Marlow    jkm080816_033

August    Greenville County    SC

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

Gill Newberry    gn10_c_illinoensis_pecans

October        

Husk of fruits is about 1mm thick and winged or keeled, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_carya_illinoensis_4

November        

Buds dark gray; twigs hairy, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_carya_illinoensis_8

November        

Fruit husks 2-4mm thick, but shrivel quickly after falling, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

JK Marlow    jkm081208_006

December    Greenville County    SC

Drive-by Tree ID is made easier by nut husks left on the twigs - looking a bit like twig hairbows.

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

JK Marlow    jkm081208_015

December    Greenville County    SC

In Carya the husk is derived from bract and bracteoles not the sepals, per Evolution, Phylogeny, and Systematics of Juglandaceae (Manos & Stone, 2001).

image of Carya illinoinensis, Pecan

Ron Lance    jkm110219_636a

Month Unknown        

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Carya illinoinensis   FAMILY Juglandaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Carya illinoinensis   FAMILY Juglandaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Carya illinoinensis

SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT) VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 053-02-002:
Carya illinoensis   FAMILY Juglandaceae

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hicoria pecan

INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hicoria texana

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

272

Tree
Perennial
Monoecious

Habitat: Bottomland forests, hardwood flatwoods, swamps, margins of fields, pastures, often along larger rivers; eastwards (out of native range) introduced and persistent around dwellings and in pecan orchards, escaped to suburban woodlands, rural forest edges and floodplains, also commonly cultivated, per Weakley's Flora

Native: south central US

Commonly cultivated, commonly escaped or persistent

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)

LEAVES:
Deciduous
Odd-pinnately compound: 11-19 leaflets
Alternate

FLOWER:
Spring
Staminate calyx 2-3 lobed
Inferior ovary
Unisexual

Staminate flowers in elongate catkins

FRUIT:
Fall
Nut

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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