Pistacia atlantica     
Mount atlas pistache   
Anacardiaceae Family     

Form: large tree with broad canopy
Seasonality: deciduous; sometimes semi-evergreen in warmer locations
Size: 45-60ft with equal spread; slow growth
Leaves: pinnately compound, linear; usually 7 leaflets per leaf, each leaflet 2in long; fine texture; foliage stay green into autumn
Flowers: inconspicuous; greenish white
Fruit: dioecious; pea-sized seeds on female plants; pink ripening to dark blue; fruit only sets when male trees are also present
Stems/Trunks: massive stout trunk, bark fissures closer than Pistacia chinensis
Range/Origin: Mediterranean
Hardiness: well below freezing, to mid 20s

LANDSCAPE VALUE:

• shade tree
• parks and public places

CULTURAL REQUIREMENTS:

Pistacia atlantica

• Exposure: full sun
• Water: drought tolerant once established; water once or twice per month in hot part of year
• Soil: uniform, good drainage
• Propagation: seed
• Maintenance: low, cleanup of seed and leaf drop

NOTES:

trunk darker than Pistacia chinensis

susceptible to Texas Root rot

return to common name index				return to Botanical name index
	browse by common name				browse by botanical name

This page was first created August 24, 2001 and last modified May 16, 2004.

---

Web page design and photographs by Toni Moore, Master Gardener
email to: tmoore1@flash.net

© 2004 Arizona Board of Regents. All contents copyrighted. All rights reserved.