Plant · P-562

Macadamia

Macadamia integrifolia

Macadamia produces the premium dessert nut of commerce, and it's one of the very few food crops domesticated out of Australia's native flora. Grafted trees start bearing in about three years; seedlings take six or seven, which is the difference between a crop this decade and the next. It needs a frost-free climate within a fairly narrow temperature band, generous even rainfall, and acid, well-drained soil. Its nuts are toxic to dogs even in modest amounts, so windfalls under a tree are worth keeping away from them.