[270] Pistacia chinensis, Chinese Pistache
Introduction
Pistacia chinensis, the Chinese Pistache, is a tree cultivated, sometimes as a street tree, with attractive Autumn leaves and fruit.
It is a close relative of Pistacia vera, the Pistachio, which produces cultivated nuts, also called pistachios. Pistacia chinensis is also called the Chinese Pistachio or Chinese Mastic.
Taxonomy
Kingdom – Plants
Division – Vascular Plants
Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)
Order – Sapindales
Family – Anacardiaceae
Subfamily – Anacardioideae
Genus – Pistacia
Scientific Name – Pistacia chinensis
Name
Pistache and pistachio come via French and Italian from the Latin pistacium, which comes via Ancient Greek from Persian/ Iranian origins. While the Latin word for the nut was the neuter pistacium, the tree had the feminine name pistacia, which is now the genus name.
It is called Chinese because it comes from China but there is always some uncertainty and it has the synonyms Pistacia formosana and Pistacia philipinensis.
The word mastic (or mastic tree) was originally used for Pistacia lentiscus.
Description
It is hard to describe this species as anything other than an ordinary looking tree. I have found two recently including one by Cheltenham Town Hall and without my identification app I would not have noticed them. When the app came up with Chinese Pistache, I thought it was wrong. (The app does make mistakes.)
Its leaves turn red in autumn as other deciduous trees but before that, it produces spectacular fruits that are bright red before they dry and fade to a brown colour.
Habitat and use
Pistacia chinensis is native to parts of China.
It is cultivated in parks and gardens and also as a street tree.
See also
Pistacia vera, the Pistachio, is the source of the familiar pistachio nuts. Most production comes from the USA and Iran.
Anacardium occidentale, the Cashew, is a close relative from which cashew nuts and cashew apples are cultivated. Most production comes from the Ivory Coast and India.
The Species of Britain 