(Note: The following is part of a series of articles looking at the history and evolution of agriculture in Georgia and Bulloch County.) Pecan trees (Carya illinoensis) are a species of the hickory group in the walnut tree family. Believe it or not, technically the pecan is not a nut but a "drupe." Whereas a true nut is a pod that contains both the fruit and seed, a "drupe" is a fruit in which the outer fleshy part surrounds a shell with a seed inside.