<P> The seeds of the pecan are edible, with a rich, buttery flavor . They can be eaten fresh or used in cooking, particularly in sweet desserts . One of the most common desserts with the pecan as a central ingredient is the pecan pie, a traditional Southern U.S. dish . Pecans are also a major ingredient in praline candy . </P> <P> In addition to the pecan seed, the wood is also used in making furniture and wood flooring as well as flavoring fuel for smoking meats . </P> <P> Pecans were one of the most recently domesticated major crops . Although wild pecans were well known among native and colonial Americans as a delicacy, the commercial growing of pecans in the United States did not begin until the 1880s . As of 2010, the U.S. produces between 80% and 95% of the world's pecans, with an annual crop of 150--200 thousand tons from more than 10 million trees . The nut harvest for growers is typically around mid-October . Historically, the leading pecan - producing state in the U.S. has been Georgia, followed by New Mexico, <refhttp://krqe.com/2017/09/18/push-in-congress-could-help-new-mexico-pecan-farmers/></ref> Texas, Arizona, Louisiana, and Oklahoma, the largest orchard being Stahmann Farms in south - central New Mexico; pecans are also grown in Alabama, California, Florida, Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Hawaii . Outside the United States, pecans are grown in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Israel, Mexico, Peru, and South Africa . They can be grown from USDA hardiness zones approximately 5 to 9, provided summers are also hot and humid . </P> <P> Pecan trees may live and bear edible seeds for more than 300 years . They are mostly self - incompatible, because most cultivars are clones derived from wild trees which show incomplete dichogamy . Generally, two or more trees of different cultivars must be present to pollinate each other . </P>

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