Mastic Care

Pistacia lentiscus is a dioecious evergreen shrub or small tree of the genus Pistacia, growing up to 4 m tall which is cultivated for its aromatic resin, mainly on the Greek island of Chios.

Pistacia lentiscus is evergreen, from 1 to 5 m high, with a strong smell of resin, growing in dry and rocky areas in Mediterranean Europe. It resists heavy frosts and grows on all types of soils, and can grow well in limestone areas and even in salty or saline environments, making it more abundant near the sea. It is also found in woodlands. When older, it develops some large trunks and numerous thicker and longer branches. In appropriate areas, when allowed to grow freely and age, it often becomes a tree of up to 7 m. However, logging, grazing, and fires often prevent its development. The leaves are alternate, leathery, and compound paripinnate with five or six pairs of deep-green leaflets. It presents very small flowers, the male with five stamens, the female trifid style. The fruit is a drupe, first red and then black when ripe, about 4 mm in diameter.