Twigs: Rather stout, brown, hairy when young, but becoming smooth; leaf scars alternate, 3-lobed, scarcely elevated, with 3-18 bundle traces.
Buds: Long-pointed, covered with yellow glandular dots and fine hairs, up to one-half inch long.
Leaves: Alternate, pinnately compound, with 9-19 leaflets; leaflets lance-shaped, curved, long-pointed at the tip, rounded or tapering to the asymmetrical base, finely doubly-toothed, yellow-green and usually smooth on the upper surface, paler and either smooth or hairy on the lower surface, up to 8 inches long and 3 inches broad.
Flowers: Staminate and pistillate borne separately, but on the same tree, appearing when the leaves are partly grown, the staminate many in slender, drooping, yellow-green catkins, the pistillate fewer in shorter spikes, neither type with petals.
Fruit: Ellipsoid, pointed at the tip, up to 2 inches long and 1 inch broad, the husk narrowly 4-winged, dark brown but with yellow scales, thin, usually splitting nearly to the base, the nut pointed at the tip, reddish-brown with black markings, the shell thin, the seed sweet.
Wood: Hard, heavy, coarse-grained, light reddish-brown.
Uses: The nuts are prized for their tastiness; the wood is used for interior finishing, furniture, fuel, and tool handles.
Habitat: Moist woods, particularly along rivers.
Range: Indiana to Iowa, south through southeastern Kansas to eastern Texas, east to Alabama; Mexico.
Distinguishing Features: The Pecan differs from all other hickories by its greater number of leaflets. The Black Walnut and Butternut, which may have as many leaflets, have a partitioned pith. In every case, the fruit of the Pecan is distinctive.