Nuts!

I first began my love affair with macadamia nuts in Hawaii in 1982. I have always been a nut freak but they were an exotic change from almonds, hazels and walnuts! Apparently, the Macadamias largely hailed from Gympie, in Queensland (Australia) but were introduced to Hawaii in the late 1800's, becoming a thriving industry by the 1920's. Macadamias are unusual, as the tree has only been 'domesticated' in the last couple of thousand years. It's with some horror to read, however, that the Macadamia integrifolia tree has now been classified as 'vulnerable' on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/12/in-a-nutshell-how-the-macadamia-became-a-vulnerable-species-aoe). The reasons for acquiring 'vulnerable' status, include the facts that there are fewer than 1000 mature trees and these are now propagated by grafting. Grafting, of course, results in there being little genetic diversity, meaning that a disease could take them all out! There are other species of Macadamia, e.g. Macadamia ternifolia, but this is already on the IUCN Red list. We can't let this excellent nut die!