PECAN
One-quarter natural size.
The leaves resemble those of the other hickories and the black walnut. They are made up of 9 to 17 leaflets, each oblong, toothed and long-pointed, and 4 to 8 inches long by about 2 inches wide.
The flowers appear in early spring and hang in tassels from 2 to 3 inches long. The fruit is a nut, 4-winged or angled, pointed from 1 to 2 inches long, and one-half to 1 inch in diameter, borne in a husk which divides along its grooved seams when the nut ripens in the fall. The nuts, which vary in size and in the thickness of the shell, have been greatly improved by selection and cultivation and are sold on the market in large quantities.
The wood is strong, tough, heavy and hard and is used occasionally in making handles, parts for vehicles, for fuel and for veneers.
The water hickory, Carya aquatica Nutt., is a smaller tree, found in swamps in southern Illinois, with leaves made up of 7 to 13 leaflets; the nut is thin-shelled, angular and bitter.
SHAG-BARK HICKORY Carya ovata K. Koch
THE shag-bark hickory is well known for its sweet and delicious nuts. It is a large commercial tree, averaging 60 to 100 feet high and 1 to 2 feet in diameter. It thrives best on rich, damp soil and is common along streams, on rich uplands, and on moist hillsides throughout the State.