Hickory trees are some of the most ecologically beneficial trees in the eastern US, but they’re very hard to find at tree nurseries or garden centers. Here’s some information about why that is the case. 🌳 This spring, I planted 2 pignut hickories in my yard. While they are tiny and probably won’t grow much in the next few years, I’m excited to restore such a valuable and useful tree to my property. Hickory nuts from most species are edible and delicious for people and wildlife (Pecan included!)

It was always surprising to me that every pine except for Ponderosa pine would be edible. It’s rare to see a single anomaly like that within an entire genus. What wasn’t surprising was discovering that it isn’t true at all. The chemical in question is isocupressic acid, and I would be willing to bet that it’s in many members of the Pinophyta division as we see it in Pines (family Pinaceae) as well as Juniper and Cypress (family Cupressaceae).The origin of this myth is several studies that found

Why Pine Nuts Are So Expensive