Pecan

The pecan ("Carya illinoinensis") is a species of hickory nut, native to south-central North America, in the United States from southern Iowa, Illinois and Indiana east to western Kentucky, North Carolina and western Tennessee, south through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas; and in Mexico from Coahuila south to Jalisco and Veracruz.
"Pecan" is from an Algonquian word, meaning a nut requiring a stone to crack.
Pecans are often used in cooking in the Southern United States. A common dessert there is pecan pie.