PISTACHIO NUT TREE Fruit Red Flowers 5 Seeds SCIENTIFIC NAME: Pistacia Vera COLOR: Red Flowers / Yellow - Red Pistachios PLANT SEEDS: Fall sow seeds or cold stratify BLOOM TIME: Spring HARVEST: Fall HARDINESS ZONE: 7 - 11 PLANT HEIGHT: 20 - 30' PLANT SPACING: 20' LIGHT : Sun WATER : Average - Dry QUANTITY: 5 Seeds The Pistachio Tree is the source of the incredibly popular edible Pistachio Nut. Pistacia Vera is native to parts of Asia the Middle East, but is now grown commercially in many parts of the world. The trees are slow growing, typically only reach 20' at most in cultivation. This desert plant tolerates drought well, enjoys hot sunny conditions. The beautiful spring flower clusters turn to showy clusters of fruit. The hard shelled seeds of the fruit are pistachios, they can be eaten raw or cooked. Add them to salads, in soups stir fries, with fish or poultry dishes, countless deserts, or as an ice cream topping :) From Wikipedia: The seed, commonly thought of as a nut, is a culinary nut, not a botanical nut. The fruit has a hard, creamish exterior shell. The seed has a mauvish skin and light green flesh, with a distinctive flavor. When the fruit ripens, the shell changes from green to an autumnal yellow/red, and abruptly splits part way open. So, the nuts naturally open when they are mature, this is when they should be harvested. The plants are dioecious, so both male female plants are needed for pollination. The trees are very showy with beautiful red buds flowers, as well as the many color changing fruit that has lovely shades.