The pecan tree was chosen as the state symbol of Texas in 1919 due to its historical and economic significance. The tree produces nuts and is native to Texas, but can also be found in other areas. Pecans can be harvested through various methods, but the slow-growing tree can take at least five years to mature. The tree is related to hickory and is a source of food for animals and humans. Former governor James Hogg’s request to plant a pecan at his grave contributed to the tree’s symbolism in Texas.
In 1919, the US state of Texas chose the pecan tree as its representative symbol. Pecan trees produce nuts and are found in most areas of Texas. The tree is native to the state, and the nuts were, at various times in the state’s history, important economic commodities. The Algonquin Native Americans who lived in the region once called the fruit of the pecan tree “peccan,” according to the Texas State Historical Association. “Peccan” referred to a nut with a hard shell.
Modern pecans may be of the traditional variety or they may be one of several new varieties that farmers have crossbred to improve characteristics. Pickers of both types of nut shake them off trees to harvest them, although harvesting methods vary in other ways. One farmer may simply pluck the shaken nuts with a sheet and another may use machinery to harvest them directly from the tree. The Texas state tree can reach 70 feet (about 21 meters), which can require very tall harvesting machines.
The Texas state tree is a slow growing plant, and after a farmer plants a pecan orchard, he must wait at least five years for the nuts to be harvested. Even after trees have matured, walnuts can be targets for pests. Animal pests that love pecans include squirrels and crows. Deer can also easily destroy the Texas state tree when they use young trees as rub posts for their antlers. In addition to animals, insects such as weevils, worms and aphids are also attracted to the tree and can cause significant damage to it.
Scientifically the Texas state tree has the name Carya illinoensis, and is deciduous, which means it sheds its leaves every year. The tree is actually closely related to the hickory and hickory plants. It grows across much of the state and has always been a source of food for people living in the Americas. After Europeans discovered the continent, however, they exported the nut across the ocean and into Europe.
Part of the reason Texas chose the pecan as its state tree, aside from the tree’s historical and widespread occurrence in the state, was that a former governor named James Hogg requested that when he died, his mourners would planted a pecan at one end of his grave, and promote the propagation of the nut among the people of Texas. The success of the pecan in the state as a food crop adds to the symbolism of the tree in the locality.
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