ANACARDIACEiE. 187 



Linn., Sp. PL 1455; Woodville, Med. Bot., t. 412; Stephenson and 

 Churchill, Med. Bot., m. 130. 

 Common Name. — Mastic tree. 

 Foreign Names. — Lentisque, Fr. ; Lentisco, It. ; Mastixbaum, Ger. 



Description. — The Mastic tree, or. rather shrub, sel- Fi S- "• 



dom is more than about twelve feet in height, and eight 

 or ten inches in diameter. It is covered with a smooth, 

 brown bark, and, towards the top, sends off numerous 

 branches. The leaves are abruptly pinnate, consisting 

 of five or six opposite, narrow, ovate leaflets, which are 

 dark green above, and pale beneath ; they are smooth, 



acuminate at each end, and terminated by a small ^^^^/^¥^^^^^^0^ 



curved spine ; they are sessile. The common petiole is 

 winged. The flowers are in single axillary racemes, 

 and very small. In the males, the calyx is divided into 

 five minute, ovate segments, the stamens five in number, 

 very short, and the anthers large, brown, and quadran- 

 gular. The females are placed alternately on the pe- 

 duncle, and their calyx consists of three small scale-like 

 segments. The ovary is ovate, and supports three P. lentiscus. 



styles, with reflexed, clavate stigmas. The fruit is a 

 drupe, which is obovate, smooth, and reddish ; it contains a smooth nut. 



It is a native of the south of Europe and the Levant. It flowers in April 

 and May, and presents several varieties ; but is distinguished from all the 

 other species of the genus in having no odd leaflet. It is principally culti- 

 vated for its resinous juice, which is well known under the name of Mastic. 

 The greater proportion of this resin is derived from the island of Scio, where 

 its extraction and preparation form an important branch of industry. It is 

 obtained by making transverse incisions in the bark in August ; from these 

 the juice exudes in drops, and gradually concretes, and is collected for use. 

 Under the Turkish laws, it was forbidden to make any attempt to collect 

 Mastic before the 27th of August. This harvest lasts for eight days, and fur- 

 nishes the best article ; fresh incisions are made in the trees until the 25th of 

 September, after which no more were allowed to be performed ; but the pro- 

 duct was permitted to be collected until some time in November, when a 

 total stop was put to the business. The finest quality was sent to Constanti- 

 nople, the second principally to Egypt, whilst a portion of this, and the third 

 quality, were disposed of to the merchants. What the regulations are since 

 the change of government, we are ignorant of. 



This tree is also raised in various parts of southern Europe, but does not 

 afford a sufficient quantity of resin to render its extraction profitable. The 

 kernels of the nut are eatable, and furnish an oil which is used for burning 

 in Spain and the Levant. The wood is hard and yellowish, and is some- 

 times used in the arts. 



Mastic, as found in the shops, is in yellowish, semi-transparent, brittle 

 grains or tears, with a mild, agreeable smell, and a resinous but not unplea- 

 sant taste. When chewed, it becomes soft and tough, but afterwards white, 

 opaque, and hard. It is much used among the Turks as a masticatory, to 

 sweeten the breath and strengthen the gums. It is also said by travellers, 

 that they esteem it so highly as even to mix it in their bread, and in fact to 

 use it in every possible way. The principal consumption of it in this coun- 

 try, is as a varnish, for which purpose it is dissolved in spirits of turpentine 

 or alcohol. Mastic is composed of a small portion of volatile oil, and of two 

 resins ; one, consisting of about three-fourths of the whole, soluble in alcohol, 



