Today is the first day of #BlackBotanistsWeek and we're highlighting our #BlackRoots through our #BlackBotanicalLegacy. An unsung #Botany101 hero is Antione, a botanical genius who successfully produced a new variety of thin shelled pecan. 1/5

Antoine was a remarkable gardner and cultivated the extensive gardens and orchards of Oak Valley Plantation in the mid 1800s. Because of his renown talents, he was tasked with producing this new variety after multiple failed experiments by an amateur botanists in Louisiana 2/5

In 1846 he grafted a wild pecan to seedling pecan stocks creating his variety "Centennial" (named for winning an award at the Philly Centennial Exposition in 1876). By 1848 Antione had produced 110 thriving pecan trees thus resolving the problem of hard to crack pecans. 3/5

Pecans are an important staple of Native American tribes along the Mississippi River. "Pecan" is derived from the Algonquin word "pacane", which describes nuts that you need a rock to crack. The USA grows 80% of the world's pecans & in 2014 this industry brought in $517mill. 4/5

And yet despite Antione's accomplishments and impact... he along with many #BlackBotanistLegacies are not included in #Botany101. Today we are bringing these stories to the forefront for #BlackBotanistsWeek 5/5