Pistacia lentiscus belongs to Anacardiaceae family. It’s an evergreen shrub, male and female flowers are on separate trees, 4-5 mt high, full of branches, resinous scent.
Leaves are leathery, even-pinnately compound, differently from Pistacia terebintus, which has odd-pinnately compound leaves. Shiny leaflets (8-15 x 20-45 mm). Winged petiole.
Reddish flowers together in panicles, bloom from March to May. Pollination occurs by wind.
Fruits are very small (4-5 mm) and round, with one seed. Fertilized fruits turn to a dark-black colour, empty fruits are red. They ripen in winter on the axis of panicles.
Pistacia lentiscus grows in sunny positions, tolerates dryness and it’s a plant of Mediterranean shrublands. It is naturally spread in Mediterranean Regions, Portugal and Canary Islands.
Diffusion in Abruzzo (I): its presence is ascertained along the coast and the nearby hills.
Uses:
The extracted-aromatic resin is also known as mastic, for the use in the Greek island of Chios where it is chewed as a chewing gum. As a spice, it continues to be used in Greece to flavour spirits and liquors. In Abruzzo (I) it was used by rural people as a fuel for lamps.
It is a shrub of ornamental value, that adapts to the formation of hedges. In Italy it is present in many plant-nurseries and it is recommended in gardens with little disponibility of water, for its tolerance of dryness.