The pecan tree (Carya illinoinensis) is a species of hickory tree native to the southern United States and northern Mexico.

Pecans are edible with a rich buttery flavor. They can be eaten fresh, roasted, or used in cooking - particularly in sweet desserts such as pecan pie. Pecans are also used in cookies, cakes, ice creams, and praline candy.

The pecan is the state nut of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. It is also the state tree of Texas.

The pecan tree is a large deciduous tree, growing 60–130 feet tall. It has a spread of 40–75 feet and a trunk of up to 7 feet in diameter.

A pecan is not truly a nut but is technically a drupe. A drupe is a fruit with a single stone or pit surrounded by a husk. The husk is a brassy greenish gold color, oval in shape,1 – 2-3⁄8 inches long and 5⁄8 – 1-1⁄8 inches wide. The husk is 1⁄8 – 3/16 inches thick. It starts out green, and then turns brown at maturity - at which time it splits in to four sections to release a thin-shelled seed.

Wild pecans were well known among native Americans and colonial Americans.The first Europeans to come into contact with pecans were Spanish explorers in the 16th century in what is now Louisiana, Texas, and Mexico.

Thomas Jefferson planted pecan trees in his orchard in Virginia. George Washington reported in his journal that Thomas Jefferson gave him pecans and he grew them at Mount Vernon in Virginia.

Pecans can be grown in USDA zones 5 to 9. They grow best where summers are long, hot and humid. The harvest is in mid-October.

In 1919, the 36th Texas Legislature made the pecan tree the state tree of Texas. In 2013, pecan pie was made the official pie of Texas.