Scientific name: carya illinoinensis
Pecans are the fruit of a kind of hickory tree, native to North America and Mexico. They have a rich taste, and are most commonly used in sweets and desserts.
Scientific name: diospyros kaki
Persimmons are an orange fruit with a sweet, tangy flavour. The variety most commonly grown is native to China. They must be completely ripe before they can be eaten, as the immature fruit is very bitter. They can be eaten fresh, dried, or used to make foods like desserts or even fermented to make vinegar.
The main variety now grown commercially and in home gardens in New Zealand is Fuyu. This is a non-astringent variety and is best eaten while it is still crisp - like an apple.
Scientific name: pinus pinea
Pine nuts are the seeds of pine trees, most notably the stone pine. All pine tree seeds are edible, but only some varieties are big enough to be worth harvesting. Most pine nuts you buy in shops come from stone pines.
Pine nuts are a major ingredient of pesto.
Pine trees or conifers come in all shapes and sizes, although most are quite large trees. They all have some features in common. They all have cones instead of flowers. They all have leaves that look like thin green needles. Most pine trees grow from one central point at the top of the tree only and do not branch, which gives most pine trees a distinctive cone shape. Some species do branch, but not as much as most other trees do.
Because pine trees usually grow tall and straight without branching they are commonly grown as plantation timber to harvest their wood for building houses and furniture out of.
Scientific name: ananas comosus
Pineapples are a type of very sweet tropical fruit. Pineapples are eaten fresh, used in desserts, cakes and their juice is used in many drinks. You need to take off the prickly outside of the fruit before you can eat it.
Pineapple flowers are most often pollinated by the hummingbird.
Scientific name: pistacia vera kerman
Pistachios are the seeds of a medium sized tree native to Iran, Syria, Greece, Turkey, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. They are also called the green nut. The trees are slow to mature and are most productive at 20 years old. The trees grow best in desert areas, and tolerate very salty soil.
Pistachio shells pop open when they are ripe. They are most often sold roasted and salted and just eaten plain, but they can also be used in desserts and some other types of food.
Pis forPitcher plant
Scientific name: families nepenthaceae and sarraceniaceae
Pitcher plants, like venus fly traps and sundews, are carniverous plants. They eat insects because they grow in very poor soils and need the extra nutrients.
Pitcher plants catch insects in deep pitchers that have smooth sides and something sweet at the bottom to attract insects. When an insect is caught inside, the lid of the pitcher closes. Some pitcher plants grow large enough to catch small animals.