Mastic tree
Pistacia lentiscus
Family · Anacardiaceae · Harmless
Aromatic
The evergreen shrub of Mediterranean scrub, with a compound leaf lacking a terminal leaflet and a strong resin smell when rubbed. Its berries feed half the Algarve's birds in winter.
Where it grows
Scrubland · Montado · Dunes and sand · Walls and rocks
Also known aslentisk, mastic
In flower
In fruit
How to tell it
A compound leaf with an even number of leaflets, none at the tip, and a winged axis. Rub it and it smells of turpentine. Fruits turning from red to black in autumn.
What it is confused with
No dangerous lookalikes known in the Iberian Peninsula.
What it is for
The resin, mastic, was chewing gum and varnish since antiquity, especially on Chios. In Portugal the wood served as firewood and the leaves for tanning.