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Pistacia is a genus of ten species in the family Anacardiaceae
Anacardiaceae

Anacardiaceae is a Family of flowering plants bearing fruits that are drupes and in some cases producing urushiol, an Irritation. Its 82 genera include several of economic importance....
, native to the Canary Islands
Canary Islands

The Canary Islands are a Spain archipelago which, in turn, forms one of the Spanish Autonomous Communities and an Outermost Region of the European Union....
, northwest Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, southern Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, central and eastern Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
, and North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 (Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
, Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
). They are shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s and small tree
TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s growing to 5-15 m tall. The leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 are alternate, pinnately compound, and can be either evergreen
Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
 or deciduous
Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
 depending on species. All species are dioecious
Dioecious

Dioecious - from Greek language for "two households" - refers to species of seed-bearing plants having separate male and female plants. That is, no individual plant of the species produces both microspores and megaspores; individual plants are either male or female ....
. The genus is estimated to be about 80 million years old.

istacia vera, a small tree, is grown for its edible seed
Seed

A seed is a small Plant embryogenesis plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some Food storage. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant....
s (see Pistachio
Pistachio

The pistachio is a small tree native to mountainous regions of Iran, Turkmenistan, Turkey and western Afghanistan, that produces an important nut #Culinary definition and uses....
).






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Pistacia is a genus of ten species in the family Anacardiaceae
Anacardiaceae

Anacardiaceae is a Family of flowering plants bearing fruits that are drupes and in some cases producing urushiol, an Irritation. Its 82 genera include several of economic importance....
, native to the Canary Islands
Canary Islands

The Canary Islands are a Spain archipelago which, in turn, forms one of the Spanish Autonomous Communities and an Outermost Region of the European Union....
, northwest Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, southern Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, central and eastern Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
, and North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 (Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
, Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
). They are shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s and small tree
TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s growing to 5-15 m tall. The leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 are alternate, pinnately compound, and can be either evergreen
Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
 or deciduous
Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
 depending on species. All species are dioecious
Dioecious

Dioecious - from Greek language for "two households" - refers to species of seed-bearing plants having separate male and female plants. That is, no individual plant of the species produces both microspores and megaspores; individual plants are either male or female ....
. The genus is estimated to be about 80 million years old.

Cultivation and uses

Pistacia vera, a small tree, is grown for its edible seed
Seed

A seed is a small Plant embryogenesis plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some Food storage. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant....
s (see Pistachio
Pistachio

The pistachio is a small tree native to mountainous regions of Iran, Turkmenistan, Turkey and western Afghanistan, that produces an important nut #Culinary definition and uses....
). The seeds of the other species were also eaten in prehistory, but are too small to have commercial value today. Records of Pistacia from pre-classical archaeological sites, and mentions in pre-classical texts, always refer to one of these other species (often P. terebinthus).

Pistacia terebinthus, known as Terebinth
Terebinth

Terebinth also called turpentine tree is a species of Pistacia, native to the Mediterranean region from the western regions of Morocco, Portugal and the Canary Islands, to western Turkey....
, a native of the western Mediterranean countries, is tapped for turpentine
Turpentine

Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-Pinene and beta-Pinene....
. Pistacia palaestina
Pistacia palaestina

Pistacia palaestina is a tree or shrub common in the area of Palestine and the Asiatic Mediterranean. It is called terebinth in English, but "terebinth" can also refer to the similar Pistacia terebinthus which is common in more westerly parts of the Mediterranean basin....
 is a similar species, common in the eastern Mediterranean contries.

Pistacia lentiscus, an evergreen
Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
 shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
 or small tree of the Mediterranean region, supplies a resin
Resin

Resin is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly Pinophyta. It is valued for its chemical constituents and uses, such as varnishes and adhesives, as an important source of raw materials for organic synthesis, or for incense and perfume....
 (see Mastic
Mastic

Mastic is an evergreen shrub or small tree of the Pistacia family growing up to tall which is cultivated for its aromatic resin, mainly on the Greece island of Chios....
).

Pistacia chinensis is grown as an ornamental tree, valued for its bright red autumn leaf colour; it is also the most frost-tolerant species in the genus (see Chinese Pistache
Chinese Pistache

Chinese Pistache is a small to medium-sized tree native to central and western China. It is hardy and can withstand harsh conditions as well as poor quality soil....
).

Pistacia species are used as food plants by the larva
Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e of some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is an order of insect that includes moths and butterfly. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterfly, skipper , and Hedylidae....
 species including Emperor Moth.

Other species

  • Pistacia afghanistania
  • Pistacia atlantica - betoum
  • Pistacia khinjuk
  • Pistacia mexicana
    Pistacia mexicana

    Pistacia mexicana is a species of plant in the Anacardiaceae family. It is found in Guatemala and Mexico. It is threatened by habitat loss....
     - Mexican pistache
  • Pistacia texana - Texas pistache
  • Pistacia wienmannifolia


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