March 19, 2014

SPAIN'S ALMOND TREES ...






Almond trees were domesticated as far back as 3.000 BC and have been part of our local Mediterranean culture for millennia. Approximately 1.7 million tons of almonds are produced every year around the world. Spain is the second largest almond producer in the world (13% of annual production) after the United States (over 40 percent annually) and relies on Andalucia and Valencia as its main producing regions.
Almond trees add a special charm to the landscapes of Andalucia with their willowy wispy branches and delicate flowers. The largest populations of almond trees can be found in La Axarquia in Malaga Province, also about 22km inland from Marbella.

If you travel across southern Spain in the Spring while the almond trees are in full bloom (usually from late January until about mid March), you’ll see that some are white and others pink. The white blossoms produce sweet almonds while the pink ones produce the bitter variety. The latter contain cyanide which must be removed before consuming the extract of these nuts.


Enjoy!

Nora 






12 comments:

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

The almond blossoms are lovely! Oh
I am soooo anxious for spring...

21 Wits said...

A most vast and interesting post! Thanks for sharing it all, and the photos are just stunning. I'm so excited for spring.

Jenny said...

Almond blossoms!

I can't even imagine how heavenly that must smell.

I'm up for a little bit and thought I'd visit a few "R's".

The blossoms were definitely lovely therapy.

Thanks for linking.

A+

Little Wandering Wren said...

Yippee Spring is in the air.... love the almond blossom photos, we're still warm and sunny here!
Wren

Unknown said...

Love the almond blossoms, so beautiful!
//Scaniatjejen
http://www.scaniatjejen.se

fredamans said...

Lovely blossoms!

Jen said...

I've never seen almond blossoms. And I had no idea almonds could be poisonous.

Erika said...

Almond blossoms are gorgeous. However we don't get nuts from our tree, the cockatoos take care of that for us!

Would be lovely to have the time, money and energy to browse those Parisian shops, they look so intriguing. Best scruffles to Lola.

carol l mckenna said...

Wonderful floral photos ~ feels like Spring ~ not in MA yet ~ Lovely post and such variety ~ xxx

artmusedog and carol

Unknown said...

Lovely photos and I can smell the almond blossoms:)I do love spring.

Hugs to you!

Anonymous said...

Love almonds. Not so sure about the shopping.

Annesphamily said...

What a beautiful and interesting post! I love almonds. They are so wonderful and your information you included made me smile. Thank you