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Pistacia terebinthus

Common name:	Terebinth	Family:	Pistaciaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	11, 50, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe - Mediterranean.
Habitat:	Dry open woods and scrub[45], usually in calcareous soils[50].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Chian Turpentine [E], Cyprus Turpentine [P], Menengic [E], Qalafournis [E], Terebinth Gum [E], Terebinto [E], Turpentine [E], Turpentine Resin [E], Turpentine Tree [MS],
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Algeria Australia Britain Egypt Iran Malaya Sicily Spain Syria Turkey

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 9m by 6m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 9. It is in flower from May to July, and the seeds ripen from October to November. The scented flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

Fruit Gum Leaves Oil Seed.

Seed - raw or cooked[177]. Sweetish[183]. It is sweeter and oilier than an almond[2].
An edible oil is obtained from the seed[117, 183].
The immature fruits, including the stems, are preserved in vinegar and salt. Known as 'atsjaar', they are used as a relish to accompany wines served during meals[183]. The fruit is about 7mm long and 6 mm wide, it contains a single seed[200].
Young leaves - cooked and used as a vegetable[177, 183].
A resin from the trunk is used as a vegetable and as a chewing gum[177, 183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Cytostatic.

The resin obtained from this tree (see below for more details) is antiseptic, antispasmodic, cytostatic, expectorant and vulnerary[100, 238]. It is taken internally in the treatment of chronic bronchial infections, streptococcal, urinary and renal infections, haemorrhage, gallstones, tapeworm and rheumatism[238]. Externally, it is used to treat arthritis, gout, sciatica, scabies and lice[238]. It has also been used in the treatment of cancer[100].

Other Uses

Dye Resin Rootstock Tannin.

Yields the resin 'Cyprus turpentine', which is obtained from incisions made in the bark (not the trunk) of the tree[1, 2, 11, 46, 117, 200]. The incisions are made from mid summer to mid autumn[238]. It is mainly used medicinally in the treatment of cancer[100] and also as a chewing gum.
The plant can be used as a rootstock for the pistachio nut, P. vera[11].
A red dye is obtained from galls that are formed on the leaves by aphis[100].
The plant is a source of tannin[46].

Cultivation details

Requires a deep well-drained light soil[200], preferring a hot dry position in full sun[166]. It grows best in a sandy to stony alkaline soil[238].
This species is hardy in most of Britain but it is slow growing[1, 200]. This contradicts the report, also in [200], that this plant is only hardy to zone 9 and is therefore intolerant of anything other than the lightest frosts.
Any pruning that needs to be done is best carried out in the spring[238].
Dioecious, male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Propagation

Pre-soak the seed for 16 hours in alkalized water[78], or for 3 - 4 days in warm water[1], and sow late winter in a cold frame or greenhouse[78, 113]. Two months cold stratification may speed up germination, so it might be better to sow the seed in early winter[113]. The germination is variable and can be slow. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow on the plants for at least their first winter in a greenhouse. Plant out into their permanent positions in early summer and consider giving some protection from winter cold for their first year or two outdoors[K].
Cuttings of half-ripe wood from juvenile trees, July in a frame[113].
Layering.

Scent

Plant: Crushed: All parts of the plant are aromatic.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[45] Polunin. O. Flowers of Greece and the Balkans. Oxford University Press 1980 ISBN 0-19-217626-9
A good pocket flora, it also lists quite a few plant uses.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[117] Rosengarten. jnr. F. The Book of Edible Nuts. Walker & Co. 1984 ISBN 0802707699
A very readable and comprehensive guide. Well illustrated.

[166] Taylor. J. The Milder Garden. Dent 1990
A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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