Following Pistachio Footprints - Acta Horticulturae

nale al 60% del periodo estivo. I tentativi di produrre
resina di qualità in altre aree del mondo, come pure
di introdurla in altre aree della Grecia, sono tutti fal-
Fig. 3: Lentisco “da mastice”
The Mastic tree
liti e la scienza ritiene che il fenomeno dipenda dal
fatto che l'isola di Chio si trova in un'area vulcanica e
alla ricchezza in calcare dei terreni.
P. lentiscus var. Chia è una pianta dioica sempreverde
di tipo arbustivo o albero mono a pluricau-
Figg. 4, 5, 6: Fiori (a sinistra), foglie (al centro), frutti (a destra)
Flowers (left side), Leaves (central picture), Fruits (right side)
le, alto 3-4 m ( Fig. 3).
La corteccia è grigio-bruna,
sottile e liscia o squamosa. Il colore del tronco varia
dal rossastro al grigio. I fiori sono profumati e crescono
su un'infiorescenza paniculata o a spiga ( Fig.
4). La fioritura avviene tra maggio e luglio ( Fig. 5).
Le foglie sono verde-scuro ( Fig. 6),
paripennate con
6-18 foglioline ovali e liscie.
Studiando le relazioni filogenetiche tra le specie
(3)
del genere Pistacia è stato osservato che il P. lentiscus
var Chia si colloca insieme alle piante maschili
e femminili di lentisco, mentre P. vera, P. palestina e
greatly both throughout the year and between years.
Rain is generally rare during the summer months,
but the winters are changeable and wet.As is typical
of the Eastern Mediterranean area, sunshine is
plentiful, with almost no cloud covering the sky
during the summer months. Average humidity
varies from 75% in winter to 60% in summer.
Attempts to cultivate and produce the high
quality resin of these trees in other areas of the
world were unsuccessful. According to scientific
evidence, this phenomenon is related to the
temperate climate of the island, the underwater
volcanic zone of the area and Chios' soil which is
rich in limestone.
Mastic is collected raw from the trees and
subsequently, it is concentrated in standardized
processes, packed and traded by the Chios' Gum
Mastic Growers Association, which counts 4.850
members. The Association was created in 1938 and
ensures the quality of the product by utilizing
modern technology in processing and packaging,
and by constantly increasing the production
volumes through the promotion of new cultivations.
This last aspect also helps to preserve the local
Chios island environment and keeps people in their
traditional territory.
P. lentiscus var. Chia is a dioecious evergreen
irregular shrub or a single to multi-trunk tree,
growing up to 3-4 m (Fig. 3) . The bark is greyishbrown,
thin, smooth or scaly. The trunk is reddish to
gray. Flowers are scented and grows in dense
panicles or spikes (Fig. 4) . The anthers are dark red
in male flowers and greenish in female ones.
Blooming time occurs from mid May to July (Fig.
5). The leaves are dark green (Fig. 6) , leathery
pinnate, and distinctive for the lack of a final leaflet.
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