From the first written record of it made by the Spaniard Cabeza de Vaca in 1528 to its nineteenth-century domestication and its current development into a multimillion dollar crop, the pecan tree has been broadly appreciated for its nutritious nuts and its beautiful wood. In Pecan: America's Native Nut Tree, Lenny Wells explores the rich and fascinating story of one of North America's few native crops, long an iconic staple of southern foods and landscapes.
Pecan: America's Native Nut Tree
Along with color photographs and recipes for some common uses of the nut, Pecan: America's Native Nut Tree gathers scientific, historical, and anecdotal information to present an accessible and comprehensive view of the largely unknown story of the pecan.
"I have known Lenny Wells for quite some time and was well aware of his expertise as a pecan scientist and extension specialist. What I was not aware of was his ability as a storyteller. I was captivated by the story, and riveted by the accounts as he related them. The book is not only a unique history of the pecan, but an interesting account of a significant part of American history."
—William D. Goff, senior editor for Pecan Production in the Southeast
"Lenny Wells has done a masterful job weaving together many topics regarding the pecan—tree improvement, propagation, horticulture, and the related topics of environmental science, natural history, and the duality of human planning and human caprice—relating it to the history and culture of North America over the last four hundred years."
—Henry Hughes, Director of Education at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Birmingham, Alabama