The Valley News has a story about small efforts to get farmers and others to look at hickory trees, especialy the Yellowbud variety, as a potential nut crop as well as a tree that’s resilient in the face of the climate emergency. (The full story is here)
Taking advantage of the northward-bound distribution of hickory is an opportunity to bring “a new food online” in the region, Chute said.
Hickory oil has a smoke point comparable to olive oil, and a higher fat content, and tastes “really light, sort of clean tasting,” said Tina Barney, who owns a tree nursery in Hartland where she grows hickory.
Other factors apart from warmer temperatures are also precipitating the expansion. As ash trees continue to die from damage caused by the emerald ash borer, an invasive insect, hickories — which fill the same ecological niche — are taking the place of ash in some areas, Cornell said.
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