<i>Carya illinoinensis</i> (Juglandaceae): A new genus and species for the flora of Pakistan

Abstract Carya illinoinensis is recorded in Pakistan (northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) for the first time based on both morphological and molecular data. The discovery also represents the first one at genus rank. Leaf samples were analysed using nuclear (ITS2) and chloroplast ( matK and rbcL ) markers and compared with database accession especially from China and the United States. Strong bootstrap support across datasets confirmed the identity of the Pakistani specimens as C. illinoinensis . The results confirm that the distribution of Carya into South Asia extends and highlight the utility of DNA barcoding in resolving the identification of difficult taxa and uncovering overlooked species.