Fossil remains found in Texas show that our native pecan tree was here long before humans came on the scene. Remarkably long lived, the pecan can survive more than a thousand years and grow over 100 feet tall.
1919, the state of Texas made the pecan tree the state tree of Texas
Pecan the same family as Walnuts and reminiscent of those in the taste, there are over 500 varieties. Pecans are a good source of protein and unsaturated fats. Like walnuts (which pecans resemble), pecans are rich in omega-6 fatty acid although pecans contain about half as much omega-6 as walnuts
A pecan, like the fruit of all other members of the hickory genus, is not truly a nut, but is technically a drupe, a fruit with a single stone or pit, surrounded by a husk. The husks are produced from the exocarp tissue of the flower, while the part known as the nut develops from the endocarp and contains the seed.