CHAP. XXXVIII. ANACARDIA CEJE. PISTA CIA. 545 



CHAP. XXXVIII. 



of the hardy or half-hardy ligneous plants of the order 

 anacardia'ce^e. 



Identification. Lindley, in Introd. to N. S. 



Synonymes. Tterebinthaceae, tribe 1. Anacardiea? R. Br., and tribe 2. Sumachinece Dec. 

 Trod., 2. 66. 



Distinctive Characteristics. Calyx in 5, occasionally in 3 — 4, or 7, divi- 

 sions. Petals the same in number, inserted, in most, along with the stamens, 

 into a perigynous disk : in some, not any. Sexes hermaphrodite, dioecious or 

 polygamous. Stamens equal in number to the petals, and alternate with them, 

 or twice as many, or even more. Ovary simple, superior. Seeds solitary. 

 Leaves alternate. (Lindl. Introd. to 2V". S.) Low deciduous or evergreen 

 trees, natives of Asia and Africa. 



Genus I. 



I 



PISTA V CIA L. The Pistachia Tree. Lin. Syst. Dice'eia Pentandria. 



Identification. Lin. Gen., 1108. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 64. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 61. and 65. 



Synonyme. Terebinthus Juss. 



Derivation. From the Greek word Pistakia, derived, according to some, from Psittakion, the name of 



a city ; and, according to others, from ,the Arabic word Foustaq, the Arabian name of Pistacia 



vera. 



Gen. Char. The sexes are dioecious, and the flowers without petals. In the 

 male plants, the flowers are disposed in racemes that resemble catkins ; every 

 flower is bracteated by a scale ; the calyx is 5-cleft ; and the stamens are .5, 

 inserted into a calycine disk, or into the calyx, and have 4-cornered, almost 

 sessile, anthers. In the female plants, the flowers are disposed in a raceme, 

 less closely than in the male; the calyx is 3 — 4-cleft; the ovary is 1 — 3-celled; 

 the stigmas are three, and thickish ; and the fruit is a dry ovate drupe, the 

 nut of which is rather bony, and usually 1-celled, though sometimes it 

 shows two abortive cells at the side; the cell contains a single seed, 

 which is affixed to the bottom. The cotyledons of the seed are thick, 

 fleshy, and oily, and bent back upon the radicle. The species are trees, 

 with pinnate leaves. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 64.) 



I 1. P. ve v ra Lin. The true Pistachia Nut Tree. 



Identification. Lin Spec, 1454. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 64. ; Don's MilL. 2. p. 65. 



Synonymes. Pistacia officinarum Hort. Kew. ; Pistachier, Fr. ; Pistacie, Ger. Pistacchio, Ital. "i 



Engravings. Blackw. Icon., t. 461. ; N. Du Ham., 4. t. 17., and our fig. 221. 



Spec. Char., fyc. Leaves deciduous, impari-pinnate, of 3 — 5 leaflets, rarely of 

 1 ; the leaflets ovate, a little tapered at the base, indistinctly mucronate at 

 the tip. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 64.) A tree, a native of Syria, growing to 

 the height of 20 ft. Introduced in 1770. 

 Varieties. The following are considered by some authors as species : — 



± P. v. 2 trifolia Lin. Spec, 1454., Bocc. Mus., ii. t. 93., has leaves 



usually of 3 leaflets. 

 3f P. v. 3 narbonensis Bocc. Mus., t. ii. 693. ; P. reticulata Willd. and 

 Don's Miller ; has pinnate leaves, the leaflets having prominent veins. 

 A plant of this variety, as abush, in the open garden of the Horticul- 

 tural Society, was, in 1834, 5 ft. high, after having been 6 years planted. 

 According to the Nouveau Du Hamel, these sorts differ only in the 

 size, shape, and consistency of the leaflets, and are by no means 

 entitled to be considered as species, 

 p p 2 



