Editing Pistacia

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants in the sumac family Anacardiaceae}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|image = Pistacia lentiscus (male flowers).jpg
|image_caption = ''[[Pistacia lentiscus]]''
|taxon = Pistacia
|authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]<ref name="GRIN">{{cite web |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?9448 |title=Genus: ''Pistacia'' L. |work=Germplasm Resources Information Network |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |date=2009-11-23 |access-date=2010-02-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141203054435/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?9448 |archive-date=2014-12-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|subdivision_ranks = Species
|subdivision = See text
|synonyms = ''Terebinthus'' <small>[[Philip Miller|Mill.]]</small><ref name="GRIN"/>
|}}
[[File:Mastic.jpg|thumb|Mastic resin from ''Pistacia lentiscus'']]
'''''Pistacia''''' is a genus of [[flowering plant]]s in the [[cashew]] family, [[Anacardiaceae]]. It contains 10 to 20 species that are native to [[Africa]] and [[Eurasia]] from the [[Canary Islands]], all of [[Africa]], and southern [[Europe]], warm and semidesert areas across [[Asia]], and [[North America]] from [[Guatemala]] to [[Mexico]], as well as southern [[Texas]].

==Description==
''Pistacia'' plants are [[shrub]]s and small [[tree]]s growing to {{Convert|5–15|m|abbr=on}} tall. The [[leaves]] are alternate, [[pinnate]]ly compound, and can be either [[evergreen]] or [[deciduous]] depending on species. All species are [[dioecious]], but [[monoecious]] individuals of ''[[Pistacia atlantica]]'' have been noted.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = İsfendiyaroğlu | first1 = M. | last2 = Özekera | first2 = E. | year = 2009 | title = Inflorescence features of a new exceptional monoecious ''Pistacia atlantica'' Desf. (Anacardiaceae) population in the Barbaros Plain of İzmir/Turkey | url = http://www.gau.ac.ir/Jm/Programs/JurnalMgr/VolumArticle/EN_135_3.pdf | journal = International Journal of Plant Production | volume = 3 | page = 3 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110722015053/http://www.gau.ac.ir/Jm/Programs/JurnalMgr/VolumArticle/EN_135_3.pdf | archive-date = 2011-07-22 }}</ref> The genus is estimated to be about 80 million years old.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Parfitt |first=Dan E. |author2=Maria L. Badenes  |date=July 1997 |title=Phylogeny of the genus ''Pistacia'' as determined from analysis of the chloroplast genome |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]] |volume=94 |issue=15 |pages=7987–92 |pmc=21542 |doi=10.1073/pnas.94.15.7987 |pmid=9223300|bibcode=1997PNAS...94.7987P |doi-access=free }}</ref>

It is a [[genus]] of [[flowering plant]]s belonging to the family [[Anacardiaceae]]. The plants are dioecious, and have male and female trees independently; a viable population should have both sexes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ghadirzadeh-Khorzoghi |first1=Effat |last2=Jannesar |first2=Masoomeh |last3=Jahanbakhshian-Davaran |first3=Zahra |last4=Moazzam-Jazi |first4=Maryam |last5=Lotfi |first5=Abolfazl |last6=Tajabadi Pour |first6=Ali |last7=Seyedi |first7=Seyed Mahdi |date=2022-03-01 |title=The influence of environmental conditions on sex ratio in a dioecious plant Pistacia vera L |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s40502-021-00614-z |journal=Plant Physiology Reports |language=en |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=152–159 |doi=10.1007/s40502-021-00614-z |bibcode=2022PPhyR..27..152G |issn=2662-2548}}</ref>

Well-known species in the genus ''Pistacia'' include [[Pistacia vera|''P. vera'']], the pistachio, grown for its edible seeds; ''[[Pistacia terebinthus|P.&nbsp;terebinthus]]'', from which terebinth resin, a [[turpentine]], is produced; ''[[Pistacia lentiscus|P.&nbsp;lentiscus]]'', source of the plant resin [[mastic (plant resin)|mastic]]; and ''[[Pistacia chinensis|P.&nbsp;chinensis]]'', the Chinese pistache, cultivated as an ornamental tree.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chinese Pistache {{!}} University of Redlands |url=https://sites.redlands.edu/trees/species-accounts/chinese-pistache/ |access-date=2024-06-28 |website=Sites |language=en}}</ref>

=== ''P. vera'' genome ===
Scientists from Iran and China assembled a draft genome of pistachio and resequenced 107 whole genomes, including 93 domestic and 14 wild individuals of ''P.&nbsp;vera'' and 35 other genomes from different wild ''Pistacia'' species.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Genome Warehouse |url=https://bigd.big.ac.cn/gwh/Assembly/502/show}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pistacia_vera - Ensembl Genomes 51 |url=https://plants.ensembl.org/Pistacia_vera/Info/Index?db=core}}</ref> Integrating genomic and transcriptomic analyses revealed expanded gene families (e.g., cytochrome P450 and chitinase) and the jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthetic pathway that are likely involved in stress adaptation. Comparative population genomic analyses revealed that pistachio was domesticated about 8000 years ago, and that likely key genes for domestication are those involved in tree and seed size, which experienced artificial selection.<ref>Zeng, L., et al. Whole genomes and transcriptomes reveal adaptation and domestication of pistachio. Genome Biol 20, 79 (2019). {{doi|10.1186/s13059-019-1686-3}}</ref>

== Species ==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Scientific name !! Common name !!Distribution
|-
| ||''[[Pistacia aethiopica]]'' {{small|Kokwaro}} || ||Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Yemen
|-
|[[File:Ab plant 133.jpg|175px]]||''[[Pistacia atlantica]]'' {{small|Desf.}} ||betoum|| Eurasia from the Iranian Plateau to North Africa
|-
|[[File:Pistacia chinensis 03.jpg|175px]] ||''[[Pistacia chinensis]]'' {{small|Bunge}} ||Chinese pistache|| central and western China
|-
| ||''[[Pistacia cucphuongensis]]'' {{small|Dai}} || ||Vietnam
|-
| ||''[[Pistacia eurycarpa]]'' {{small|Yalt.}} || ||Zagros Mountains, Iraq
|-
| ||''[[Pistacia falcata]]'' {{small|Beccari ex Martelli}} || ||northeast tropical Africa, Arabian Peninsula
|-
| ||''[[Pistacia khinjuk]]'' {{small|Stocks}} || || Egypt, western Asia, and parts of the Himalayas
|-
| ||''[[Pistacia integerrima]]'' {{small|J.L.Stewart ex Brandis}} || ||Asia
|-
|[[File:Pistacia lentiscus CBMen 4.jpg|175px]] ||''[[Pistacia lentiscus]]'' {{small|L.}} || mastic||Mediterranean Basin
|-
| ||''[[Pistacia malayana]]'' {{small|M.R.Henderson.}} || ||Peninsular Malaysia
|-
|[[File:Pistacia mexicana.jpg|175px]] ||''[[Pistacia mexicana]]'' {{small|Kunth}} ||Mexican pistache (including ''P. texana'' <small>Swingle</small> – Texas pistache), American pistachio|| Guatemala, Mexico, and Texas
|-
|[[File:Pistacia × saportae kz3.jpg|175px]] ||''[[Pistacia ×saportae]]'' {{small|Burnat}} || ||Europe
|-
|[[File:Pistacia palaestina blossom1.JPG|175px]] ||''[[Pistacia terebinthus]]'' {{small|L.}} ||terebinth and turpentine tree||Morocco, and Portugal to Greece, western and southeast Turkey, and Levant region (especially Israel and Syria)
|-
|[[File:860631-Pistachio-IMG 6862-2.jpg|175px]] ||''[[Pistachio|Pistacia vera]]'' {{small|L.}} ||pistachio||Central Asia and the Middle East
|-
| ||''[[Pistacia weinmannifolia]]'' {{small|J.Poiss. ex Franch.}}<ref name="GRINSpecies">{{cite web |title=GRIN Species Records of ''Pistacia'' |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?9448 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121212231346/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?9448 |archive-date=2012-12-12 |access-date=2010-11-19 |work=Germplasm Resources Information Network |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture}}</ref>
 | |||Yunnan province of China
|-
|}

''[[Bursera simaruba]]'' <small>(L.) Sarg.</small> was formerly classified as ''P. simaruba'' <small>L.</small><ref name="GRINSpecies" />

==Ecology==
The ''Pistacia'' species are vicarious [[Anacardiaceae]] with few species outside the [[Old World]], and are mostly more adapted to water shortage and [[alkaline]] soil.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

Many plant species are adapted to desert or summer drought typical of Mediterranean climate, so have a high tolerance to [[saline soil]]. They grow well in water containing up to 0.3 to 0.4% of soluble salts.<ref>{{cite web |first=Esteban |last=Herrera |date=January 1997 |title=Growing Pistachios in New Mexico |url=http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/circ532.pdf |access-date=26 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726120159/http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/circ532.pdf |archive-date=26 July 2011 }}</ref> They are quite resilient in their ecological requirements, and can survive in temperatures ranging from −10&nbsp;°C in winter to 45&nbsp;°C in summer. They prefer places oriented toward the sun and well-drained soil, but grow well in the bottom of ravines. Though very hardy and [[drought tolerance|drought resistant]], ''Pistacia'' species grow slowly and only begin to bear fruit after about 7–10 years from planting, obtaining full development only after 15–20 years. The fruit ripens in the Mediterranean from August; only female trees have fruit.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

Although some species prefer moderate humidity, they do not grow well in high-humidity conditions. They are susceptible to root rot, molds, and fungi, and parasites attack if they receive too much water and the soil has insufficient drainage. They require a period of drought each year for proper development.
Their leaves are intensely bright green and leathery, with three to nine leaflets. The leaves are alternate, compound, and paripinnate.
The flowers are unisexual, apetalous, and grouped in clusters. The flowers range from purple to green. The fruit is a [[drupe]], generally unpalatable to humans, the size of a [[pea]], and red to brown in color, depending on the degree of maturation. The seeds do not have [[endosperm]].
The seeds are eaten and dispersed by birds, for which they are a valuable resource because of the scarcity of food in some important times of year, as the time of breeding, migration, or the dry season. The commercial species of [[pistachio]] has larger fruits and is edible.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

The plants emit a bitter, resinous, or medicative smell, which in some species is very intense and aromatic. Some species develop "galls" that occur in the leaves and leaflets after the bite of insects.<!--A kind of [[aphid]] is specified in the genus Pistacia.{{clarify}}--> Although marred by the presence of galls, they are very vigorous and resistant plants that survive in degraded areas where other species have been eliminated. They multiply by seeds, [[stolon]]s, and root shoots. Various species [[Hybrid (biology)|hybridize]] easily between them, and hybrid plants are difficult to identify.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

Some tree species (e.g. ''[[Pistacia aethiopica]]'', ''[[Pistacia atlantica]]'') can exist as small bushes and shrubs due to the extremes of their habitat, adverse conditions, or the excessive consumption by wildlife or livestock that hinders growth.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

''Pistacia lentiscus'' is a very common plant related to ''P.&nbsp;terebinthus'' with which it hybridizes. ''P.&nbsp;terebinthus'' is more abundant in the mountains and inland in the Iberian Peninsula, and mastic is usually found more frequently in areas where the Mediterranean influence of the sea prevents or moderates frost. Some species with very small ranges cover only one or a group of islands in the Mediterranean. ''P.&nbsp;terebinthus'' is also found on the east coast of the [[Mediterranean]], [[Syria]], [[Lebanon]], and [[Israel]], filling the same ecological niche of these species. On the west coast of the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, and the Middle East, it can be confused with ''[[Pistacia atlantica]]''.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

''Pistacia'' species are used as food plants by the [[Caterpillar|larvae]] (caterpillars) of some species of [[Lepidoptera]] including the [[Pavonia pavonia|emperor moth]].{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

==Cultivation and uses==
Best known as the pistachio, ''P. vera'' is a small tree native to Iran, grown for its edible [[seed]]s. The seeds of the other species were also eaten in prehistory, but are too small to have commercial value today.  Records of ''Pistacia'' from preclassical archaeological sites, and mentions in preclassical texts, always refer to one of these other species (often ''P.&nbsp;terebinthus'').{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

''P. terebinthus'' (the terebinth), also a native of Iran, and the western Mediterranean countries, is tapped for [[turpentine]]. It is also common in the eastern Mediterranean countries.  Because terebinths have the ability to kill certain bacteria, terebinth resin was widely used as a preservative in ancient wine.  In the Zagros Mountains of Iran, in one of the earliest examples of [[winemaking]], [[archaeology|archaeologists]] discovered terebinth resin deposits from 5400 to 5000&nbsp;BC in jars that also contained grape-juice residue.<ref>[http://www.intowine.com/shop/1282-0excerpt.html Rod Phillips, ''Une courte histoire du vin'', 2001]</ref>

''P. lentiscus'', an evergreen shrub or small tree of the Mediterranean region, supplies a [[resin]] called [[mastic (plant resin)|mastic]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sehaki |first1=Chabha |last2=Jullian |first2=Nathalie |last3=Choque |first3=Elodie |last4=Dauwe |first4=Rebecca |last5=Fontaine |first5=Jean Xavier |last6=Molinie |first6=Roland |last7=Ayati |first7=Fadila |last8=Fernane |first8=Farida |last9=Gontier |first9=Eric |title=Profiling of Essential Oils from the Leaves of Pistacia lentiscus Collected in the Algerian Region of Tizi-Ouzou: Evidence of Chemical Variations Associated with Climatic Contrasts between Littoral and Mountain Samples |journal=Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) |pages=4148 |doi=10.3390/molecules27134148 |date=28 June 2022|volume=27 |issue=13 |doi-access=free |pmid=35807395 |pmc=9268259 }}</ref>

''P. chinensis'' (Chinese pistache), the most frost-tolerant species in the genus, is grown as an ornamental tree, valued for its bright red autumn leaf colour.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|Pistacia|''Pistacia''}}
{{Wikispecies-inline|Pistacia|''Pistacia''}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q35987}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Pistacia| ]]
[[Category:Anacardiaceae genera]]
[[Category:Edible nuts and seeds]]
[[Category:Dioecious plants]]
[[Category:Fruit trees]]