Taxon: Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch

Summary

Genus:

Carya

Section:

Apocarya

Family:

Juglandaceae

Nomen number:

9253

Place of publication:

Dendrologie 1:593. 1869 "illinoensis"

Comment:

conservation of Koch's altered spelling failed at Berlin

Verified:

06/24/1988 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

3490 (3463 active, 2203 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Basionym
Juglans illinoinensis Wangenh.

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Carya illinoensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch, orth. var.
Carya oliviformis (Michx.) Nutt.
Carya pecan (Marshall) Engl. & Graebn.
Hicorius pecan (Marshall) Britton
Juglans oliviformis Michx.
Juglans pecan Marshall

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Bentley, N. et al. 2020. Linkage mapping and QTL analysis of pecan (Carya illinoinensis) full-siblings using genotyping-by-sequencing. Tree Genet. Genomes 16:1-20. DOI: 10.1007/s11295-020-01476-6.
Boutelje, J. B. 1980. Encyclopedia of world timbers, names and technical literature
Brummitt, R. K. 1988. Report of the Committee for Spermatophyta: 35. Taxon 37:448. Note: conservation not recommended
Elias, T. S. 1972. The genera of Juglandaceae in the southeastern United States. J. Arnold Arbor. 53:26-51.
Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen 2:1281.
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Gómez-Pompa, A. & V. Sosa, eds. 1978-. Flora de Veracruz.
Grauke, L. J. & M. A. Mendoza-Herrera. 2012. Population structure in the genus Carya. Acta Hort. 948:143-158.
Grauke, L. J. et al. 1986. (808) Proposal to conserve the name of pecan as Carya illinoensis (Wang.) K. Koch and reject the orthographic variant Carya illinoinensis (Wang.) K. Koch (Juglandaceae). Taxon 35:174-177.
Grauke, L. J. et al. 1995. Evaluation of Pecan [Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch] germplasm collections and designation of a core subset. HortScience 30:950-954.
Grauke, L. J. et al. 2010. Plastid microsatellite markers in Carya. Acta Hort. 859:237-246.
Grauke, L. J. et al. 2011. Geographic patterns of genetic variation in native pecans. Tree Genet. Genomes 7:917-932.
Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Hackett, C. & J. Carolane. 1982. Edible Horticultural Crops Academic Press.
Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
León, B. 1995. pers. comm. Note: re. Spanish common names
Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
Little, E. L., Jr. 1978. Important forest trees of the United States
Little, E. L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees, Agric. Handb. 541
Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
Meyer, F. G. et al. 1994. A catalog of cultivated woody plants of the southeastern United States
Mo, Z. et al. 2020. The chloroplast genome of Carya illinoinensis: genome structure, adaptive evolution, and phylogenetic analysis. Forests 11: Art. 207.
Nicolson, D. H. 1988. General Committee Report 1. Taxon 37:440. Note: conservation proposal rejected, Carya illinoinensis remains correct
Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Rehder, A. 1949. Bibliography of cultivated trees and shrubs.
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Reichel, S. 1998. pers. comm. Note: re. German common names
Stone, D. E. et al. 1964. Morphological and chemical evidence of the hybrid nature of bitter pecan, Carya × lecontei. Brittonia 17:97-106.
Wofford, B. E. Database of Tennessee vascular plants (on-line resource).
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
Zhang, J.-B. et al. 2013. Integrated fossil and molecular data reveal the biogeographic diversification of the Eastern Asian-Eastern North American disjunct hickory genus (Carya Nutt.). PLoS One 8(7):e70449.
2018. Oklahoma vascular plant database

Common names

Language	Name	Alternate name	seq	Citation
English	pecan		1	Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Chinese	mei guo shan he tao	美国山核桃	2	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
French	pacanier		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
German	Hickorynußbaum		2	Reichel, S. 1998. pers. comm. Note: re. German common names
German	Pekannuß		2	Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen 2:1281.
German	Pekannußbaum		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Portuguese (Brazil)	nogueira-japonêsa		2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)	nogueira-pecã		2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)	noz-japonêsa		2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)	noz-pecã		2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)	pecã		2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Spanish	nogal americano		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	pecán		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	pecana		2	León, B. 1995. pers. comm. Note: re. Spanish common names
Spanish	pecanero		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Swedish	pekanhickory		2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Transliterated Russian	černoj pekan		2	Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Illinois		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Iowa	s.e.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Kansas	s.e.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Missouri		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Oklahoma		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Indiana	s. & w.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Chihuahua	s.e.	Grauke, L. J. & M. A. Mendoza-Herrera. 2012. Population structure in the genus Carya. Acta Hort. 948:143-158.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Coahuila de Zaragoza		Gómez-Pompa, A. & V. Sosa, eds. 1978-. Flora de Veracruz.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Nuevo León		Gómez-Pompa, A. & V. Sosa, eds. 1978-. Flora de Veracruz.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	San Luis Potosí	s.e.	Grauke, L. J. & M. A. Mendoza-Herrera. 2012. Population structure in the genus Carya. Acta Hort. 948:143-158.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Tamaulipas		Gómez-Pompa, A. & V. Sosa, eds. 1978-. Flora de Veracruz.
1	Native	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	Texas		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Arkansas		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Kentucky	w.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Louisiana		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Mississippi	w.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Tennessee		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guanajuato		Gómez-Pompa, A. & V. Sosa, eds. 1978-. Flora de Veracruz.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Hidalgo		Grauke, L. J. & M. A. Mendoza-Herrera. 2012. Population structure in the genus Carya. Acta Hort. 948:143-158.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Jalisco		Gómez-Pompa, A. & V. Sosa, eds. 1978-. Flora de Veracruz.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Oaxaca		Gómez-Pompa, A. & V. Sosa, eds. 1978-. Flora de Veracruz.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave		Gómez-Pompa, A. & V. Sosa, eds. 1978-. Flora de Veracruz.
2	Cultivated	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa			Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2	Cultivated	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Azerbaijan			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Asia-Temperate	China	China			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
2	Cultivated	Australasia	Australia	Australia			Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2	Cultivated	Europe	Eastern Europe	Ukraine		incl. Krym	Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Northern America		Mexico			Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2	Cultivated	Northern America		United States			Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2	Cultivated	Southern America	Brazil	Brazil			Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
4	Naturalized	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Malta			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Northern America		United States		e.	Little, E. L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees, Agric. Handb. 541
6	Other					exact native range obscure owing to extensive cult.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.

Native
Northern America

NORTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Indiana (s. & w.)]
NORTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Illinois, Iowa (s.e.), Kansas (s.e.), Missouri, Oklahoma]
SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Arkansas, Kentucky (w.), Louisiana, Mississippi (w.), Tennessee]
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Texas]
NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Chihuahua (s.e.), Coahuila de Zaragoza, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí (s.e.), Tamaulipas]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Oaxaca, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave]

Cultivated
Africa

SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa

Asia-Temperate

CAUCASUS: Azerbaijan
CHINA: China

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia

Europe

EASTERN EUROPE: Ukraine (incl. Krym)

Northern America

REGION: Mexico, United States

Southern America

BRAZIL: Brazil

Naturalized
Europe

SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Malta

Northern America

REGION: United States (e.)

Other (exact native range obscure owing to extensive cult.)

Reference(s)

Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Gómez-Pompa, A. & V. Sosa, eds. 1978-. Flora de Veracruz.
Grauke, L. J. & M. A. Mendoza-Herrera. 2012. Population structure in the genus Carya. Acta Hort. 948:143-158.
Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Little, E. L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees, Agric. Handb. 541
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Environmental	ornamental		Bentley, N. et al. 2020. Linkage mapping and QTL analysis of pecan (Carya illinoinensis) full-siblings using genotyping-by-sequencing. Tree Genet. Genomes 16:1-20. DOI: 10.1007/s11295-020-01476-6.
Fuels	charcoal	esp. for smoking meats	Little, E. L., Jr. 1978. Important forest trees of the United States
Fuels	fuelwood	esp. for smoking meats	Little, E. L., Jr. 1978. Important forest trees of the United States
Human food	nut		Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
Human food	nut		Bentley, N. et al. 2020. Linkage mapping and QTL analysis of pecan (Carya illinoinensis) full-siblings using genotyping-by-sequencing. Tree Genet. Genomes 16:1-20. DOI: 10.1007/s11295-020-01476-6.
Materials	wood		Little, E. L., Jr. 1978. Important forest trees of the United States
Materials	wood		Elias, T. S. 1972. The genera of Juglandaceae in the southeastern United States. J. Arnold Arbor. 53:26-51.
Materials	wood		Bentley, N. et al. 2020. Linkage mapping and QTL analysis of pecan (Carya illinoinensis) full-siblings using genotyping-by-sequencing. Tree Genet. Genomes 16:1-20. DOI: 10.1007/s11295-020-01476-6.

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=9253. Accessed 14 April 2026.