With a trunk circumference of 13.5 feet, a height of 97 feet, and a branch spread of 88 feet, this tree — native to the southern U.S. and Mexico — is the second largest Pecan in Pennsylvania. (A barely larger Pecan is in Chester County.)
A specimen in Mercersburg PA, with a circumference 11 inches less than this tree, is thought to be about 200 years old (pabigtrees.com). Tree expert John Rosenfeld puts the Lancaster tree closer to 150 years: “Someone came back from the Civil War and planted this tree in the 1860s, that’s my guess.”
Phil Saunders (third photo) who grew up in the adjacent house and currently watches over the Pecan, remembers his dad watering the tree when he was growing up.
[Last photo shows Sophie Xiong, builder of this website.]
This amazing species produces nuts with a buttery flavor so sweet that they form the basis of not only pecan pie but praline candy as well.
