Pecan

Taxobox
name = Pecan
status = secure


image_width = 240px
image_caption = Pecan orchard
Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Fagales
familia = Juglandaceae
genus = "Carya"
species = "C. illinoinensis"
binomial = "Carya illinoinensis"
binomial_authority = (Wangenh.) K.Koch

The Pecan ("Carya illinoinensis", commonly misspelled "illinoensis") is a species of hickory, native to south-central North America, in the United States from southern Iowa, Illinois and Indiana east to western Kentucky and western Tennessee, south through Oklahoma, Arkansas, to Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana; and in Mexico from Coahuila south to Jalisco and Veracruz.Germplasm Resources Information Network: [http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-and wellandbin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?9253 "Carya illinoinensis"] ] Flora of North America: [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=210000185 "Carya illinoinensis"] ]

Growth

The pecan tree is a large deciduous tree, growing to 20–40 m (65-130 ft) in height, rarely to 44 m (145 ft); taller trees to 50–55 m (165-180 ft) have been claimed but not verified. It typically has a spread of 12-23 m (40-75 ft) with a trunk up to 2 m (10 ft) diameter. A 10-year-old sapling will stand about 5 m (16 ft) tall. The leaves are alternate, 40–70 cm long, and pinnate with 9–17 leaflets, each leaflet 2–1 cm long and 2–7 cm broad. The flowers are wind-pollinated, and monoecious, with staminate and pistillate catkins on the same tree; the male catkins are pendulous, up to 18 cm long; the female catkins are small, with three to six flowers clustered together. The fruit is an oval to oblong nut, 2.6–6 cm long and 1.5–3 cm broad, dark brown with a rough husk 3–4 mm thick, which splits off in four sections at maturity to release the thin-shelled nut.Oklahoma Biological Survey: [http://biosurvey.ou.edu/shrub/cail2.htm "Carya illinoinensis"] ] Bio
http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/pages/carya-fruits.htm "Carya" fruits] ] Collingwood, G. H., Brush, W. D., & Butches, D., eds. (1964). "Knowing your trees". 2nd ed. American Forestry Association, Washington, DC.] Pecans, like the fruit of all other members of the hickory genus, are not true nuts but technically a drupe (fruit with a single stone or pit). The husks are produced from the exocarp tissue of the flower while the part known as the nut develops from the endocarp.

Pecans first became known to Europeans in the 16th century; the Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca saw and wrote first about this plant.Fact|date=November 2007 The Spaniards brought the pecan into Europe, Asia, and Africa beginning in the 16th century.The nuts of the Pecan are edible, with a rich, buttery flavor. They can be eaten fresh or used in cooking, particularly in sweet desserts but also in some savory dishes. One of the most common desserts with the pecan as a central ingredient is the pecan pie, a traditional southern U.S. recipe. Pecans are also a major ingredient in praline candy, most often associated with New Orleans.

In addition to the pecan nut, the wood is also used in making furniture, in hardwood flooring, as well as flavoring fuel for smoking meats.

Cultivation

Pecans were one of the most recently domesticated major crops. Although wild pecans were well-known among the colonial Americans as a delicacy, the commercial growing of pecans in the United States did not begin until the 1880s. [ [http://pecankernel.tamu.edu/introduction/index.html Pecans at Texas A&M University ] ] Today, the U.S. produces between 80% and 95% of the world's pecans, with an annual crop of 150–200 thousand tons. [ [http://www.tpga.org/faqs.html Texas Pecan Growers Association ] ] The nut harvest for growers is typically around mid-October. Historically, the leading Pecan-producing state in the U.S. has been Georgia, followed by Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma; they are also grown in Arizona and Hawaii. Outside the United States, pecans are grown in Australia, Brazil, China, Israel, Mexico, Peru and South Africa. They can be grown approximately from USDA hardiness zones 5 to 9, provided summers are also hot and humid.

Pecan trees may live and bear edible nuts for more than three hundred years. They are mostly self-incompatible, because most cultivars, being clones derived from wild trees, show incomplete dichogamy. Generally, two or more trees of different cultivars must be present to pollenize each other.

Diseases

Nutrition

Pecans are a good source of protein and unsaturated fats. A diet rich in nuts can lower the risk of gallstones in women. [ [http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/80/1/76 Frequent nut consumption and decreased risk of cholecystectomy in women - Tsai et al. 80 (1): 76 - American Journal of Clinical Nutrition ] ] The antioxidants and plant sterols found in pecans reduce high cholesterol by reducing the "bad" LDL cholesterol levels. [ [http://www.llu.edu/news/scope/spr02/newscope2.html LLUAHSC - Spring 2002 Newscope ] ]

Clinical research published in the Journal of Nutrition (September 2001) found that eating about a handful of pecans each day may help lower cholesterol levels similar to what is often seen with cholesterol-lowering medications. [ [http://www.llu.edu/news/today/sept2001/llu.html TODAY - September 20, 2001 - LLU news ] ] Research conducted at the University of Georgia has also confirmed that pecans contain plant sterols, which are known for their cholesterol-lowering ability. [ [http://ilovepecans.org/nutrition.html#cholesterol Pecans: Cholesterol Lowering Source of Antioxidants, Fiber, Vitamin E, Protein ] ]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has acknowledged this and related research and approved the following qualified health claim: "Scientific evidence suggests, but does not prove, that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most nuts, such as pecans, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease." [ [http://www.webmd.com/content/article/71/81253.htm FDA OK's Nutty Heart Health Claim ] ] "This nut is an important source of ellagic acid. Pecan nuts are a good low fat source of vitamin E and also have anti-cancer effects. They can also, if eaten correctly, lead to lower cholesterol levels." [ [http://www.health24.com/dietnfood/Healthy_foods/15-18-21-186.asp Health 24 - Healthy foods - Nuts ] ]

ymbolism

In 1906, Texas Governor James Stephen Hogg made the Pecan tree the state tree of Texas. The story goes that Hogg had a Pecan tree planted at his grave instead of a traditional headstone, requesting that the nuts be distributed throughout the state to make Texas a "Land of Trees". [ [http://www.tpga.org/faqs.html Texas Pecan Growers Association ] ]

Etymology and pronunciation

"Pecan" is from an Algonquian word, meaning a nut requiring a stone to crack. [ [http://www.ilovepecans.org/history.html History of Pecans - National Pecan Shellers Association ] ] The pronunciation of pecan is a source of friendly dispute among aficionados. Some people say IPA| [pə.ˈkɑn] , while others say IPA| [ˈpiː.kæn] .

References

External links

* [http://www.ilovepecans.org National Pecan Shellers Association]
* [http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/frame/cail2.htm "Carya illinoinensis" images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu]
* [http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/nchfp/factsheets/preservingpecans.html National Center for Home Food Preservation — Home Preservation of walnuts]
* [http://www.na.fs.fed.us/Spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/carya/illinoesis.htm USDA Forest Service: "Carya illinoensis"]