The pecan sprang from the south central region of North America, a large area including 13 states and part of Mexico. The long-lived, deciduous tree grows well over 100 feet tall and produces slim, bright green, toothy leaves. The fruit of the tree grows in clusters, the pecan we eat found inside the fruit’s inner hard shell. One of the few North American natives to thrive as a major agricultural crop, the pecan tree still grows wild in many parts of Texas where it is also extensively cultivated. Prized for its hardwood, its shade giving and its distinctly sweet nuts, the pecan got its English name from Algonquian Indians who knew the tree from its easternmost growing area. For thousands of years, native people selected certain strains of pecan for planting, while also harvesting wild trees. They ate the nuts roasted, ground into meals and mixed with fruits and beans.

Today pecans are raised in the southern U.S. states from Georgia to Arizona. Texas is home to the largest number of native pecans. Georgia leads the nation in pecan production from commercial cultivars, but increasingly faces competition from huge irrigated orchards in New Mexico and Arizona. Pecans are commercially raised also in Mexico, Australia, Brazil, Israel and South Africa.

Pecans contain the least amount of protein and the most fat (along with macadamias—see them) of all nuts. They are high in minerals, however.