For those truly interested in exploring this topic long-term, I'd
like to point out that there is a /Pistacia mexicana/ (or /texicana/, if
you swing that way) which lives at least as far north as San Antonio in
the botanical garden (minimal Winter protection as far as I could tell).
The seed is, apparently "inedible" (I can neither confirm nor deny).
There may very well be some Winter-hardiness in those genes which could
be bred into some hybrids with a european or asian pistachio. Although
that technically puts it in 8a or so, I know that they've survived
several multi-day hard freezes in the last couple of years. I haven't
seen how they've survived but I'm sure the botanists at the botanical
gardens could tell you more. Oh, they also have Texas pawpaws and a
couple of other trees with potentially interesting genetics.
Geoffrey Tolle
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