Pecan

Pecan — The Pecan 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.

It is a large deciduous tree, growing to 20–40 m in height (rarely to 44 m taller trees to 50–55 m have been claimed but not verified), with a trunk up to 2 m diameter. 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.

Pecans first became known to Europeans in the 16th century; the Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca saw and wrote first about this plant. 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.

Pecans are a good source of protein and unsaturated fats. A diet rich in nuts can lower the risk of gallstones in women. The antioxidants and plant sterols found in pecans reduce high cholesterol by reducing the “bad” LDL cholesterol levels.