Accounts vary as to the origin of this decidous tree. Some say it's a native of Central Asia and has been cultivated for at least 3000 years--others say the Levant, somewhere around Asia Minor, Syria, and Palestine. Most agree that when Jacob sends his sons to Egypt with gifts of a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds (Genesis 43:11) it is pistachio nuts that he's talking about. And the name pistachio derives from a Persian word.

Beyond that, It is said that pistachios were brought to Rome by Vitellius and were cultivated there. They were not introduced to England, however, until the 16th and 17th centuries...and never really took. But when the U.S. Patent Office distributed pistachio seeds to California in 1854 , the trees fell in love with the place.

Oddly, the nuts did not become popular in the U.S. until they were made an item in the newfangled vending machines that were introduced in the 30s. Yet today crops from California rival the output of the the Mediterranean and Turkey. The tree grows to some 20-30 feet high; staminate and pistillate flowers are born on separate trees.