STANDLEY — TEEES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 661 



which exudes from the trunk is employed for the same purposes. The leaves 

 and petioles are sometimes employed as brushes to cleanse the teeth and harden 

 the gums, and even as a remedy for toothache. They are also used as a domes- 

 tic remedy for affections of the chest and liver. For an illustration of the 

 tree see Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 9: pi. 28. 



6. PISTACIA L. Sp. PI. 1025. 1753, 

 Pistacia vera L., of the Mediterranean region and western Asia, furnishes 

 the pistachio nuts of commerce, and is extensively cultivated for that purpose. 

 Pistachio nuts are the seeds or kernels of a dry drupe ; they are green and have 

 a peculiar flavor. P. lentiscus L., also of the Mediterranean region, yields mastic 

 or mastiche, an official drug, which is a resinous exudate from the branches. It 

 was formerly used for debility of the stomach and chronic diarrhea, but is now 

 seldom given internally. The gum is employed to fill cavities in the teeth and 

 is chewed to sweeten the breath, and varnish is prepared from it. The seeds 

 yield an oil, and the leaves are used for tanning. P. terehinthus L. is the 

 Cyprus turpentine tree. 



1. Pistacia mexicana H. B. K. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 7: 22. pi. 608. 1825. 



Coahuila and Tamaulipas to Guerrero and Chiapas; type from Chilpancingo, 

 Guerrero. Western Texas ; Guatemala. 



Shrub or tree, sometimes 6 meters high ; leaves pinnate ; leaflets 11 to 29, 

 mostly alternate, oblique-oblong, 1 to 2 cm. long, acute or obtuse, nearly glab- 

 rous; flowers small, dioecious, the pistillate ones in panicles 5 to 10 cm. long; 

 stamens usually 5 ; fruit a nearly dry drupe, oblique, slightly compressed, 3 

 to 4 ram. long, purplish, glaucous. " Ram6n " (Oaxaca) ; " lentisco " (Nuevo 

 Leon, Oaxaca; sometimes corrupted into "lantrisco") ; " yaga-guieguei " (Oax- 

 aca, Zapotec, Reko) ; " almficiga " (the resin; Oaxaca). 



A resin exudes from the branches. The seeds are edible. The specimens 

 from northeastern Mexico have comparatively few leaflets, but some specimens 

 from southern Mexico also have fewer than the typical form. The form 

 occurring in Texas and northeastern Mexico has been described recently as a 

 new species, Pistacia texana Swingle,* but it does not appear to the writer to 

 deserve specific rank, since it is impossible to find any definite character by 

 which it can be separated from typical P. mexicana, 



7. SCHINITS L. Sp. PI. 388. 1753. 

 1. Schinus molle L. Sp. PI. 388. 1753. 



Widely cultivated in Mexico and often growing without cultivation. Native 

 of Peru and occurring elsewhere in South America. 



Tree, often 15 meters high or larger, with spreading crown and graceful 

 drooping branches; leaves pinnate, the rachis marginate; leaflets 15 to 27, 

 sessile, linear-lanceolate, acute, entire or nearly so ; flowers small, yellowish 

 white, in large panicles; petals 5, oblong; stamens 10; fruit drupaceous, 

 globose, 5 mm. in diameter, rose-red. "Arbol del Perfl," " Perti," " Pirul," 

 ** molle," " pimienta de America " (various parts of Mexico) ; " pelonquahuitl," 

 "copalastle" (fruit), " copalquahuitl " (Nahuatl) ; " ttzacthunni," '* ttzac- 

 thdmi," "xa.za" (OtomI, Buelna) ; " pimiento," " muelle " (Colombia); "pimi- 

 ento de California" (Costa Rica) ; " pimentero " (Chile). 



The pepper-tree (sometimes known also as "California pepper-tree") Is 

 very commonly planted as a shade tree in some parts of Mexico, especially in 

 the Valley of Mexico, and is grown abundantly In southern California. The 



' Joum. Am. Arb. 2: 107. 1920. 



