How to Identify Pecan Wood (Carya illinoinensis)

Pecan, Carya illinoinensis: color, grain, end grain, Janka hardness (1,820 lbf) and weight, and how to tell it from Hickory (Shagbark), quoted from the USDA Wood Handbook and The Wood Database.

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At a glance

Scientific name: Carya illinoinensis
Type: Hardwood
Origin: South-central United States
Color: Heartwood light to medium brown with a reddish hue; sapwood a paler yellowish brown.
Grain and texture: Grain usually straight, though occasionally wavy; medium texture with low natural luster.
End grain: Ring porous to semi-ring-porous; large to very large earlywood pores in a single intermittent row, medium to small latewood pores solitary and in radial multiples of 2-3; tyloses common; parenchyma reticulate (bands present in pecan-hickory group, unlike true hickories); narrow rays, close spacing.
Janka hardness: 1,820 lbf
Specific gravity (12% MC): 0.66
Other clue: No characteristic odor.

What Pecan looks like

Heartwood light to medium brown with a reddish hue; sapwood a paler yellowish brown. Grain usually straight, though occasionally wavy; medium texture with low natural luster. End grain: Ring porous to semi-ring-porous; large to very large earlywood pores in a single intermittent row, medium to small latewood pores solitary and in radial multiples of 2-3; tyloses common; parenchyma reticulate (bands present in pecan-hickory group, unlike true hickories); narrow rays, close spacing.

Hardness and weight

Janka hardness 1,820 lbf (side hardness: the force needed to embed a 0.444-inch steel ball to half its diameter). Specific gravity 0.66 at 12% moisture content, so a cubic foot weighs roughly 41 lb. Weight in the hand is one of the quickest checks: compare a piece of known size against a board you already know.

Pecan vs Hickory (Shagbark)

Pecan runs slightly lower in strength/hardness than the true hickories despite nearly identical color and straight grain; the reticulate parenchyma bands present in pecan's earlywood row (absent in true hickory) are the reliable endgrain tell. The Hickory (Shagbark) page has its own details.

Smell, weight and other clues

No characteristic odor.

Where you will meet it

Tool handles, ladder rungs, wheel spokes, and flooring.

Working it

Difficult to work; tearout common if cutting edges aren't sharp and the wood tends to blunt cutting edges; glues, stains, and finishes well and responds well to steam bending.

How to photograph it for identification

Photograph a freshly cut or sanded face in daylight, not a finished or stained surface, since stain hides color and finish flattens grain. Add a close-up of the end grain: cut a clean end, wet it or sand it to 220, and shoot from straight on; pore pattern and rays are the most reliable marks. Put a ruler in frame. The app suggests the likely species; confirm with the end grain and weight.

FAQ

How hard is Pecan?

Janka hardness 1,820 lbf. For comparison, Red Oak is about 1,290 lbf and Eastern White Pine about 380 lbf.

How do I tell Pecan from Hickory (Shagbark)?

Is Pecan a hardwood or a softwood?

Pecan is a hardwood: it comes from a broadleaf tree. Hardwood and softwood describe the kind of tree, not how hard the wood is; some hardwoods are softer than some softwoods.

What color is Pecan?

Heartwood light to medium brown with a reddish hue; sapwood a paler yellowish brown.

Find out what tree that really is.

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