Xeriscape Landscaping Plants For The Arizona Desert Environment
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Trees

Mastic Tree, Pistacia lentiscus

Mastic Tree, Pistacia lentiscus; September 6, 2006 Glendale.

Mastic Tree, Pistacia lentiscus	Evergreen Pistache, Pistacia lentiscus

Mastic Tree Pistacia lentiscus, Mango Family ( Anacardiaceae ) Mastic Tree. Also Called: Evergreen Pistache. A large dioecious, evergreen, irregular shrub, or a single to multistemmed tree. A sweet liquorice-flavoured resin, called 'mastic', is obtained from incisions made into the bark of the trunk, but not into the wood. Is is used as a flavoring and has been found to reduce mouth bacteria. Height: 15 to 25 feet tall, equal spread. Bark: Grayish-brown, thin, smooth or scaly. Trunk: 3 to 8 inches in diameter. Reddish to gray. Flowers: Dioecious; inconspicuous flowers, in the axils of the leafs. Blooming Time: Mid May to July. Leaves: Pinnately compound,with 3 - 5 pairs of 1 inch leaflets; winged petioles. Seeds: Seedpods 1 1/2 - 3" long, 3/8 - 1/2" in diameter; a cylindrical pod; short-pointed at ends, dark brown or black, hard; maturing in summer, remaining attached, often opening late; many elliptical flattened shiny brown; seeds. Found: Low water use landscaping plant in the Phoenix and Tucson areas. Elevation: Below 2,000 Feet. Habitat: Ornamental in lower elevations or Arizona. Xeriscape Plant. Native of Greece. Miscellaneous: Flowering Photos Taken September 6, 2006 Glendale.