Texas State Tree – Pecan – Carya illinoinensis
Pecan Juglandaceae Carya illinoinensis
(illinoensis)
Leaf: Alternate, pinnately compound with 9 to 15 finely serrate and often curved
leaflets, 12 to 18 inches long.
Flower: Male flowers in hanging, yellow-green catkins, often in pairs of three
(4 to 5 inches long). Females are small and yellowish green, 4-angled.
Fruit: Large, oblong, brown, splotched with black, thin shelled nuts, 1 ½ to
2 inches long, husks are thin, usually occur in clusters on trees. Mature in
September and October.
Twig: Moderately stout, light brown, fuzzy particularly, when young; leaf scars
large and three lobed; buds are yellowish brown to brown, hairy, terminal buds
¼ to ½ inch long.
Bark: Smooth when young, becoming narrowly fissured into thin broken strips,
often scaly.
Form: A large tree (can reach heights well over 100 feet) with spreading crown
when in the open.

of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation;
Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera,
and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654;
range map source information