Pecan Leaf Identification
The pecan tree (Carya illinoinensis) is a tree of the Lower Midwest and Deep South, planted extensively for its crop of nuts. The leaves on the pecan are recognizable from a number of their features. Does this Spark an idea?
-
Compound Form
-
Pecan leaves are compound leaves, made up of numerous separate components that combine to form a large single leaf. Pecan leaves possess a number of individual leaflets connected by short stems to a long central axis--the rachis--that itself attaches to the branches of the tree. The leaflets grow opposite each other, with only the odd leaflet alone at the end of the axis.
Size
-
The length of a pecan leaf rachis will vary, with some as short as 12 inches and others being as long as 20 inches, notes the Texas A&M University Texas Forest System website. On the rachis are as few as 11 leaflets or as many as 17 leaflets. The leaflets average between 4 inches and 8 inches in length, with most in the 2-inch wide range.
-
Considerations
-
Other features to watch for when you observe pecan leaves is the slightly curved appearance of its leaflets. The "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Trees" calls the leaflets somewhat "sickle-shaped." The edges of the leaflets will have a series of fine teeth. They will be yellowish-green on their upper sides but a bit less vibrant on their undersides.
-
