There are variety of nut trees available in America but one of the most widely spread is the pecan tree. The pecans come from the pecan tree and are nuts like walnuts but with a thin shell and because of their very sweet taste are used as a food or as an ingredient for many delicious pies.<br><br>The pecan trees grow mostly in the Central and South area of U.S. but with more than thousand varieties there is a sort that grows well even in the cold Canadian climate. These trees are known for centuries. There are fossils found around the rivers in Texas which could be dated to the prehistorical era. The first written proof of the trees is dated about 600 years ago. It is known that the Native American tribes have used the pecans as their main food during the winter season. They were also gathering together around the rivers at the beginning of the fall every year to reap the harvest of the pecan trees.<br><br>The pecan tree has a significant impact on the development of the Southern part of U.S. Soon after the newcomers realized the merit of pecan nuts the port of New Orleans started to be used for transporting them to other states of America and the rest of the world. However until the middle of 19th century this was not a very big business. Then a gardener managed to cultivate a bigger pecan whose qualities were superior to the ones of the other pecan nuts known at that time. This pecan was awarded the ?Best Pecan Exhibited award? at a pecan nuts and trees exhibition at 1876. That marked the start of the real commercialization of pecans. Now all one has to do is go to tannerspecan.com to find of types of great pecan products and some great recipes.<br><br>At the beginning of 20th century a company started to use the pecan pies as a promotional tool for its main product. It was then that the pecans started to gain their glory. Now they are known in every American home and often pecan pies are used on various occasions.<br><br>The pecan pie is a sweet desert whose main ingredients are pecan nuts and corn syrup. It is a very delicious pie and takes a very important place in the Southern cuisine. There are numbers of different recipes for pecan pie but the one thing that is always in there are the nuts. They give the pie that sweet nutty flavor that made it famous throughout many generations.<br><br>A pecan tree can often grow to more than a hundred feet tall. These are very time-resistant trees and can live up easily to over thousand years. The tree does not give an usable fruit until six to ten years after it is planted. In the past most of the trees grew wild and today there still can be found wild pecan trees in many places of America. With the accelerating commercial impact and use of the tree many orchards were made and in many areas this turned out to be a profitable family run business. The pecan tree is the state tree of Texas.