native plants

Half of the wild relatives of major U.S. crops are endangered

Half of 600 native plants in the United States that are wild relatives of important agricultural crops are endangered in their natural habitats, and "the great majority" of them require conservation action, said a team of researchers.

Why you don’t see American pine nuts in stores

Faced with climate change and cheap competition from countries like China, the American pine nut trade shows no signs of recovery. Long a staple food for Native American tribes in the Southwest, including the Navajo and Apache, 8 million pounds of pine nuts were wild-harvested in 1942, from New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona.