Pecan, the “State tree” of Texas, is found native in the state from the Piney Woods west throughout Central Texas, centering in the watershed of the Colorado River. It makes an excellent shade tree and is very valuable for the nut crop it bears. Many varieties are planted in orchards. The pecan is a tall-growing tree, attaining heights of over 100 feet. When grown in the open it forms a large, rounded, symmetrical top. The outer BARK is rough, hard, tight, but broken into scales; on the limbs it is smooth at first but later tends to scale or divide as the bark grows old. The LEAVES resemble those of the other hickories and the black walnut. They are made up of 9 to 17 leaflets, each oblong, toothed and long-pointed, and 4 to 8 inches long by about 2 inches wide. [Illustration: PECAN (Leaf, one-sixth natural size; fruit, one-third natural size)] The FLOWERS appear in early spring and hang in tassels from 2 to 3 inches long. The FRUIT is a nut 1 to 2 inches long, and ½ to 1 inch in diameter, in a thin husk which opens along its grooved seams when the fruit ripens in the fall. The nuts vary in size and thickness of shell. Cultivated varieties are sold on the market in large quantities. The WOOD is heavy, hard, brittle, not strong, and of little value except for fuel and wagon stock. Some wood is satisfactory for making softball bats. BITTERNUT HICKORY (Pignut) Carya cordiformis (Wangenh.) K. Koch Bitternut, the only hickory with bright yellow buds, is a tall slender tree with a broad pyramidal crown, attaining a height of 100 feet and a diameter of 2 to 3 feet. It is found in the eastern part of the state on moist rich soils, and is not abundant. The BARK on the trunk is granite-gray, faintly tinged with yellow, less rough than in most hickories, yet broken into thin, plate-like scales. [Illustration: BITTERNUT HICKORY (Twig, one-half natural size; leaf and fruit, one-third natural size)] The bright yellow winter BUDS are compressed and scurfy. The LEAVES are alternate, compound, from 6 to 10 inches long, and composed of 5 to 11 leaflets. The individual leaflets are smaller and more slender than those of the other hickories. The male and female FLOWERS are on the same tree. The FRUIT is about 1 inch long and thin-husked, while the nut has a thin, smoothish, gray, brittle shell. The kernel is bitter. The WOOD is hard, strong, and heavy; reddish-brown in color, and often called red hickory. It has the same uses as the other hickories but is said to be inferior. WATER HICKORY Carya aquatica (Michx. f.) Nutt.