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)