Almond tree

The almond tree may grow on dry soils yet it is still able to produce a crunchy nut with a delicious and delicate sweet flavour. Known for five or six thousand years in Iran, the almond tree spread across the whole Mediterranean basin before arriving in California in the 19th century. It was perfectly adapted to this hot, dry region and California soon became the world centre for its fruit, the almond. The bearer of many symbols, such as immortality, or “the essence hidden within things of little apparent importance”, it also has many virtues: as a delicious edible nut, a treatment for coughs, to help improve and soothe the digestive system and for its skin benefits.