Know Texas Triva: The State Tree is the Pecan Tree

The pecan, Carya illinoinensis or illinoensis, is a species of hickory, native to south-central North America.  In 1919 the 36th Texas Legislature made the pecan tree the state tree of Texas. In southeast Texas, the Texas Pecan Festival is celebrated every year. In 1906 then Texas Governor James Stephen Hogg asked that a pecan tree be planted at his grave instead of a traditional headstone, requesting that the pecans it produced be distributed throughout the state.