| Pistachios first took root in California in the late 1900s as part of a series of experimental plantings. Some credit seed distributor, Charles Mason, for this early introduction. Many point to plant scientist, William E. Whitehouse, who spent six months in Persia in 1930, hunting for the most distinctive pistachio variety. |
| Because pistachio trees take up to ten years to reach maturity, it wasn't until 1950 that one exceptional variety emerged, Kerman, named after the Persian city of its origin. Plantings of this stock were successfully established in California's hot, dry interior where scientists and nurserymen then bud it to heartier, disease resistant rootstock varieties. |
