Let me know what is your favorite? Did I forget anything? Let me know!
Here’s a comprehensive list of all food-producing trees regardless of Kentucky’s climate. These include fruit, nut, syrup, oil, edible parts, and medicinal trees from all over the world.
Fruit-Bearing Trees (Tropical & Cold Hardy)
Temperate Climate Fruits (Grow Well in Kentucky)
- Apple Trees (Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp)
- Pear Trees (Bartlett, Kieffer, Asian Pear)
- Peach Trees (Elberta, Contender, Red Haven)
- Plum Trees (Methley, Shiro, Santa Rosa)
- Cherry Trees (Black Cherry, Bing, Montmorency)
- Persimmon Trees (American Persimmon, Asian Persimmon)
- Pawpaw Trees (Banana-like fruit, native to the U.S.)
- Mulberry Trees (Red, Black, White Mulberry)
Tropical & Subtropical Fruits (Need Warm Climate or Greenhouse)
- Lemon Trees (Meyer Lemon, Ponderosa Lemon)
- Lime Trees (Key Lime, Persian Lime)
- Orange Trees (Navel Orange, Valencia Orange)
- Grapefruit Trees (Ruby Red, White Grapefruit)
- Banana Trees (Cavendish, Blue Java “Ice Cream” Banana)
- Mango Trees (Alphonso, Tommy Atkins)
- Avocado Trees (Hass, Bacon, Fuerte)
- Pineapple Guava (Feijoa)
- Fig Trees (Black Mission, Brown Turkey)
- Date Palm Trees (Medjool Dates)
- Olive Trees (Arbequina, Manzanilla)
- Jackfruit Trees (Massive tropical fruit tree)
- Lychee Trees (Produces small, sweet fruits)
Nut-Bearing Trees
- Black Walnut (Edible nuts, valuable wood)
- English Walnut (Easier to crack than Black Walnut)
- Pecan Trees (Cold-hardy varieties available)
- Hickory Trees (Shagbark, Bitternut – edible nuts)
- Chestnut Trees (American & Chinese Chestnut)
- Hazelnut Trees (American & European Hazelnut)
- Macadamia Nut Trees (Requires warm climate)
- Brazil Nut Trees (Grows in the Amazon rainforest)
- Cashew Trees (Warm tropical climate required)
- Almond Trees (Best in dry, warm climates)
- Peanuts
Syrup & Sugar-Producing Trees
- Sugar Maple (Best for maple syrup)
- Black Maple (Also produces syrup)
- Boxelder Maple (Lower-quality syrup)
- Date Palm (Date sugar)
- Coconut Palm (Coconut sugar)
Edible Leaves, Flowers, Bark, or Other Parts
- Sassafras (Leaves for tea, root bark for root beer)
- Linden (Basswood) (Young leaves are edible, flowers for tea)
- Moringa Tree (Highly nutritious leaves, called the “Tree of Life”)
- Baobab Tree (Leaves and fruit pulp are edible)
- Breadfruit Tree (Large fruit used as a staple food)
- Neem Tree (Leaves and oil have medicinal uses)
- Cacao Tree (Used to make chocolate)
Trees That Produce Oils, Resins, or Tar
- Pine Trees (Eastern White Pine, Shortleaf Pine, Virginia Pine)
- Pine tar for waterproofing & antiseptic use.
- Inner bark can be ground into flour.
- Black Walnut (Walnut oil)
- Hickory Trees (Nut oil)
- American Beech (Beechnut oil)
- Coconut Palm (Coconut oil)
- Olive Trees (Olive oil)
- Tung Tree (Produces tung oil for waterproofing)
Unique or Exotic Fruit & Nut Trees
- Durian Tree (Large, spiky tropical fruit)
- Mangosteen Tree (Sweet and tangy tropical fruit)
- Starfruit (Carambola) (Juicy, star-shaped fruit)
- Dragon Fruit (Pitaya) (Cactus fruit, needs warm weather)
- Passionfruit Vine (Edible tropical fruit, requires trellising)