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Pistacia atlantica
Also called Atlantic Pistachio, Cashew, Mount Atlas Mastic, Turpentine Tree, Wild Pistachio, Mount Atlas Pistachio, Mount Atlas Mastic Tree
Pistacia atlantica is a slow-growing deciduous tree from the cashew family, native to North Africa, the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean and Iranian Plateau. It is grown mainly as a hardy, drought-tolerant landscape and reforestation tree, and it suits dry, poor soils.
Pistacia atlantica is a species of pistachio tree known by the English common names Mt. Atlas mastic tree, Mount Atlas pistachio, Atlantic pistachio, wild pistachio, turpentine tree and Atlantic terebinth.
P. atlantica has three subspecies or varieties which have been described as atlantica, cabulica, and mutica. According to molecular phylogenetic studies, P. atlantica subsp. kurdica is actually a separate species, Pistacia eurycarpa.
It is native to a section of Eurasia from North Africa to the Iranian Plateau, where it was once common. Because other trees were rare, it was the only good source of wood and was overharvested, reducing its current distribution. It is a common tree in mountain forests in Iran, and it is "characteristic" of the landscape in parts of Algeria outside the Sahara.
There are many uses for this plant. This wild pistachio is the most economically important tree in many parts of the Kurdish regions, including the Zagros Mountains, where it is managed as a valuable forest tree. The resin and fruit oil were historically used for a variety of medicinal purposes. The resin, known in Iran as saqez, is still an important commodity.
Chinese pistache · Chinese Pistache · Mastic tree · Terebinth · Pistachio · Pistache
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Pistacia atlantica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
