Pistacia terebinthus
Details Top
| Internal ID | UUID643ff7b7a3079127093742 |
| Scientific name | Pistacia terebinthus |
| Authority | L. |
| First published in | Sp. Pl. : 1025 (1753) |
Ethnobotanical Use Top
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Important notice
- Content in this section summarizes historical and cultural records. It is not medical advice.
- Do not use plants for self-treatment. Safety, efficacy, and appropriate use are not established here.
- Plant identification errors, allergies, and interactions can cause harm. Consult qualified professionals for health questions.
- Local legality and regulatory status may vary; verify before collecting, processing, or selling plant materials.
In parts of Greece and western Turkey, the hardened oleoresin (gum) of Pistacia terebinthus is chewed fresh or dissolved in warm water for digestive upset, respiratory congestion, and to clear a sore throat. Above all it is valued as an astringent and aromatic expectorant among healers of the Ottoman tradition (Dalal et al., 2013). In North Africa, especially in the Middle Atlas of Morocco, a tea made from the young leaves is given to ease bronchial irritation and short colds (Hseini et al., 2007). Among Palestinian, Jordanian and Lebanese practitioners, decoctions of the resinous gum or leaf‑rich infusions are taken to relieve coughs and “cold in the chest,” a practice noted repeatedly in ethnomedicinal surveys of the Levant (Khafagi et al., 2007). The resin has long been recorded in Western classical literature as an internal and external astringent and stimulant: for example, Dioscorides reports chewing the gum for respiratory complaints and drinking a decoction of the resin for bronchial irritation ( Dioscorides, 1st century CE ).
For practical preparation, a simple 1:5 (w:v) tincture of the resin is the most straightforward traditional recipe. Measure 20 grams of finely powdered gum resin and place it in a clean amber jar. Add 100 milliliters of 45% ethanol (neutral grain spirit works well), seal, and shake daily for 2–3 weeks in a cool, dark place. Filter through fine cloth and store in a dark bottle. A typical dose is 2–3 milliliters up to three times a day, kept for short courses only. Do not use the tincture or the gum during pregnancy or while breastfeeding; it is not recommended for children, and people with allergies to Anacardiaceae or mastication‑stimulating resins should avoid it.
The resin is rich in essential‑oil terpenoids such as α‑pinene, limonene, β‑caryophyllene and verbenone, with high levels of polymeric terebinthone‑type diterpenes that give it its strong astringency. These constituents are well documented in species‑level chemical analyses of Pistacia terebinthus resin and plausibly account for its astringent, antimicrobial and mild expectorant effects (Speranza et al., 2005). Small amounts of flavonoids such as myricetin glycosides and gallotannins in the leaves complement the resin’s astringency and align with the tea’s short‑term use for colds.
Modern relevance: while this tree still appears as a “wild resin” in Mediterranean herbal and specialty markets, the bulk of commercial terebinth resin now comes from Pistacia lentiscus (mastic). Research on Pistacia terebinthus remains active, with ongoing phytochemical profiling and pharmacological studies to validate its traditional aromatic and astringent uses (Dalal et al., 2013).
General Uses Top
Suggest a correction!Common products:
The species yields an oleoresin known as terebinth or Chian turpentine. It is harvested by tapping the trunk and consists of an essential oil fraction (turpentine) and a non-volatile rosin fraction. The resin is sold for technical and craft use rather than food.
Industrial and craft applications:
Terebinth resin functions as a natural varnish and coating medium. When the turpentine solvent evaporates, the rosin component hardens to form a protective film used on wood and as a traditional spirit varnish. The rosin fraction is a brittle, glassy material with high acid value, suitable as a solid resin in varnish and coating systems. The oleoresin also serves as an adhesive and is used in some small-object woodworking and icon painting as a varnish binder.
Colorants and tanning:
Although pistachio species are rich in tannins, the specific literature for Pistacia terebinthus does not document its use in leather tanning or natural dyeing; those applications are therefore not recorded here.
Fragrance and cosmetics:
The essential oil from the oleoresin is used as a fragrance ingredient in perfumery and as a flavoring agent. Its volatile profile includes monoterpenes such as alpha-pinene; however, it is processed primarily for technical resin use rather than as a cosmetic emollient.
Properties relevant to use:
The oleoresin is a two-phase system: a volatile turpentine fraction responsible for solvency and a non-volatile rosin fraction that forms the film. The rosin has high acid value and resin hardness, enabling it to function as a solid resin in varnishes and adhesives after solvent evaporation. These characteristics are well established in the resin literature and are consistent with the behavior of pine-type oleoresins generally used in technical applications.
Standards and regulation:
Materials derived from terebinth resin are used as natural base materials and may be subject to general regulations for natural resins and turpentine-type substances in industrial and fragrance applications, including safety and labeling requirements. Specific harmonized standards for this exact product type are not documented in the references consulted.
Sustainability and sourcing:
The resin is obtained by tapping wild or cultivated trees. Sustainable harvesting involves selective incision and controlled frequency to maintain tree health; overexploitation can impair vitality. Information on yields, sap flow, and comparative sustainability across regions is not provided in the sources consulted.
Synonyms Top
| Scientific name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Lentiscus terebinthus | Kuntze | Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 153 (1891) |
| Lentiscus vulgaris | Garsault | Fig. Pl. Med. 1: t. 87. 1764, nom. inval., opus utique oppressum; Descr. Pl. Anim. 63. 1767; Thell. in Bull. Herb. Boiss. Ser. II. viii. 784. |
| Pistacia palaestina | Boiss. | Diagn. Pl. Orient. 9: 1 (1849) |
| Pistacia terebinthina | St.-Lag. | Ann. Soc. Bot. Lyon vii. (1880) 132. |
| Terebinthus vulgaris | Dum.Cours. | Bot. Cult. , ed. 2, 6: 222 (1811) |
| Terebinthus communis | Dum.Cours. | Bot. Cult. 3: 575.1802 |
| Pistacia crassifolia | Salisb. | Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton 172 (1796) |
| Pistacia terebinthus subsp. palaestina | (Boiss.) Engl. |
Common names Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Language | Common/alternative name |
|---|---|
| English | cyprus turpentine |
| English | terebinth |
| English | turpentine tree |
| Spanish | cornicabra |
| Spanish | albotin |
| Spanish | albotín |
| Spanish | arbol de nuestra senora |
| Spanish | arbol de nuestra señora |
| Spanish | Árbol de nuestra senora |
| Spanish | Árbol de nuestra señora |
| Spanish | arbol trementino |
| Spanish | Árbol trementino |
| Spanish | cabra coja |
| Spanish | cabracoja |
| Spanish | cabracorna |
| Spanish | cabricuerno |
| Spanish | caricuerno |
| Spanish | charnera |
| Spanish | charneta |
| Spanish | colneta |
| Spanish | cornicabre |
| Spanish | cornicabro |
| Spanish | cornita |
| Spanish | descornacabras |
| Spanish | escuernicabra |
| Spanish | granillo cornicabra |
| Spanish | higuera silvestre |
| Spanish | jedisco |
| Spanish | lentisco albar |
| Spanish | noguerola |
| Spanish | quemaculo |
| Spanish | terebinto |
| Spanish | tornalobo |
| Spanish | trementina de kios |
| Spanish | valvarija |
| an | sarrampuz |
| Arabic | بطم تربنتيني |
| Arabic | بطم |
| Arabic | بطم ساقس |
| Azerbaijani | terebint püstəsi |
| azb | داغ پوستهسی |
| Bulgarian | кукуч |
| Catalan | cornicabra |
| Catalan | noguerola |
| Catalan | arbre de pi |
| Catalan | arbre de trementina |
| Catalan | noguereta |
| Catalan | terebint |
| Czech | Řečík palestinský |
| Czech | terebint |
| Czech | řečík terebintový |
| German | terpentinpistazie |
| German | terpentinpistazien |
| German | terpentin-pistazie |
| Greek | Κοκκορεβυθιά |
| Greek | Τραμιθιά |
| Greek | Τριμιθιά |
| Greek | Τερέβινθος |
| Esperanto | terebintarbo |
| Basque | ahuntzadar |
| Persian | پسته کوهی |
| Finnish | tärpättipistaasi |
| French | pistachier terebinthe |
| French | térébinthe |
| French | pistachier térébinthe |
| Irish | tuirpintín |
| Irish | crann tuirpintín |
| Irish | teiribint |
| Galician | terebinto |
| Hebrew | אלת טרבינת |
| Croatian | smrdljika |
| Upper Sorbian | terpentinowa pistacija |
| io | terebinto |
| Italian | terebinto |
| Japanese | トクノウコウ |
| Japanese | テレビンノキ |
| Kabyle | hejji |
| ku | kezwan |
| ku | Şengîlî |
| Macedonian | смрдлика |
| mwl | fedigueira |
| mwl | fedieira |
| Norwegian Bokmål | terpentintre |
| Dutch | terebint |
| Dutch | terpentijnboom |
| oc | petelin |
| Polish | drzewo terpentynowe |
| Polish | terebint |
| Polish | pistacja terpentynowa |
| Portuguese | cornalheira |
| Portuguese | terebinto |
| Russian | Теревинф |
| Russian | Фисташка терпентинная |
| Russian | Терпентинное дерево |
| Serbo-Croatian | smrdljika |
| Slovenian | terebint |
| Swedish | terebint |
| Turkish | melengiç |
| Turkish | menengiç |
| Ukrainian | Терпентинне дерево |
| Chinese | 笃耨香 |
| Chinese | 圓柄黃連木 |
| Chinese | 圆柄黄连木 |
Germination/Propagation Top
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No germination or propagation data was added yet.
Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top
Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
-
Africa click to expand
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Northern Africa
- Algeria
- Libya
- Morocco
- Tunisia
-
Northern Africa
-
Asia-temperate click to expand
-
Western Asia
- Cyprus
- East Aegean Islands
- Lebanon-Syria
- Palestine
- Turkey
-
Western Asia
-
Europe click to expand
-
Southeastern Europe
- Albania
- Bulgaria
- Greece
- Italy
- Kriti
- Sicilia
- Turkey-in-Europe
- Yugoslavia
-
Southwestern Europe
- Baleares
- Corse
- France
- Portugal
- Sardegna
- Spain
-
Southeastern Europe
Links to other databases Top
Suggest others/fix!| Database | ID/link to page |
|---|---|
| World Flora Online | wfo-0000393769 |
| USDA Plants | PITE10 |
| Tropicos | 50319302 |
| INPN | 113748 |
| KEW | urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:70274-1 |
| The Plant List | kew-2407017 |
| Open Tree Of Life | 131831 |
| Observations.org | 147470 |
| NCBI Taxonomy | 434238 |
| IUCN Red List | 20678342 |
| IPNI | 70274-1 |
| iNaturalist | 81870 |
| GBIF | 3190580 |
| Freebase | /m/07260j |
| EPPO | PIATE |
| EOL | 396429 |
| Elurikkus | 374375 |
| Calflora (Californian flora) | 12780 |
| USDA GRIN | 28653 |
| Wikipedia | Pistacia_terebinthus |
Genomes (via NCBI) Top
No reference genome is available on NCBI yet. We are constantly monitoring for new data.
Scientific Literature Top
Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
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Phytochemical Profile Top
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Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
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| Name | PubChem ID | Canonical SMILES | MW | Found in | Proof |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| > Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Prenol lipids / Triterpenoids | |||||
| (+)-Erythrodiol | 101761 | Click to see | 442.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| (3S,5R,10S,13S,14S,17S)-17-[(E,2S)-7-hydroxy-6-methylhept-5-en-2-yl]-4,4,10,13,14-pentamethyl-2,3,5,6,7,11,12,15,16,17-decahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-ol | 163021121 | Click to see CC(CCC=C(C)CO)C1CCC2(C1(CCC3=C2CCC4C3(CCC(C4(C)C)O)C)C)C | 442.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| (3S,5S,10S,13S,14S,17S)-4,4,10,13,14-pentamethyl-17-[(2S)-6-methylhept-5-en-2-yl]-2,3,5,6,7,11,12,15,16,17-decahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-ol | 40469707 | Click to see | 426.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| (3S,5S,8R,9R,10R,13R,14R,17S)-17-[(2S)-2-hydroxy-6-methylhept-5-en-2-yl]-4,4,8,10,14-pentamethyl-2,3,5,6,7,9,11,12,13,15,16,17-dodecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-ol | 162965657 | Click to see | 444.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| (4aS,6aR,6aS,6bR,8aR,10R,12aR,14bR)-10-hydroxy-2,2,6a,6b,9,9,12a-heptamethyl-1,3,4,5,6,6a,7,8,8a,10,11,12,13,14b-tetradecahydropicene-4a-carboxylic acid | 7061300 | Click to see CC1(CCC2(CCC3(C(=CCC4C3(CCC5C4(CCC(C5(C)C)O)C)C)C2C1)C)C(=O)O)C | 456.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| (4aS,6aR,6aS,6bR,8aR,12aR,14bS)-2,2,6a,6b,9,9,12a-heptamethyl-10-oxo-3,4,5,6,6a,7,8,8a,11,12,13,14b-dodecahydro-1H-picene-4a-carbaldehyde | 89262164 | Click to see | 438.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| (5R,10S,13S,14S,17S)-17-[(E,2S)-7-hydroxy-6-methylhept-5-en-2-yl]-4,4,10,13,14-pentamethyl-1,2,5,6,7,11,12,15,16,17-decahydrocyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-one | 163017719 | Click to see | 440.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| (5S,8R,9R,10R,13R,14R,17S)-17-[(2S)-2-hydroxy-6-methylhept-5-en-2-yl]-4,4,8,10,14-pentamethyl-1,2,5,6,7,9,11,12,13,15,16,17-dodecahydrocyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-one | 124303726 | Click to see | 442.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| 10-Hydroxy-2,2,6a,6b,9,9,12a-heptamethyl-1,3,4,5,6,6a,7,8,8a,10,11,12,13,14b-tetradecahydropicene-4a-carbaldehyde | 14423516 | Click to see | 440.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| 10-Hydroxy-2,2,6a,6b,9,9,12a-heptamethyl-3,4,5,6,6a,7,8,8a,10,11,12,13,14,14a-tetradecahydropicene-4a-carboxylic acid | 5319898 | Click to see CC1(CCC2(CCC3(C(C2=C1)CCC4C3(CCC5C4(CCC(C5(C)C)O)C)C)C)C(=O)O)C | 456.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1055/S-2002-26749 |
| 17-(2-Hydroxy-6-methylhept-5-en-2-yl)-4,4,8,10,14-pentamethyl-1,2,5,6,7,9,11,12,13,15,16,17-dodecahydrocyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-one | 4220788 | Click to see CC(=CCCC(C)(C1CCC2(C1CCC3C2(CCC4C3(CCC(=O)C4(C)C)C)C)C)O)C | 442.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| 17-(7-Hydroxy-6-methylhept-5-en-2-yl)-4,4,10,13,14-pentamethyl-1,2,5,6,7,11,12,15,16,17-decahydrocyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-one | 85122621 | Click to see CC(CCC=C(C)CO)C1CCC2(C1(CCC3=C2CCC4C3(CCC(=O)C4(C)C)C)C)C | 440.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| 17-(7-hydroxy-6-methylhept-5-en-2-yl)-4,4,10,13,14-pentamethyl-2,3,5,6,7,11,12,15,16,17-decahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-ol | 77686615 | Click to see | 442.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| 2,2,6a,6b,9,9,12a-heptamethyl-10-oxo-3,4,5,6,6a,7,8,8a,11,12,13,14b-dodecahydro-1H-picene-4a-carbaldehyde | 54227084 | Click to see | 438.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| 3-Hydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid | 619166 | Click to see | 456.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| 3-Oxo-Erythrodiol | 15127783 | Click to see | 440.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| 3-Oxo-olean-12-en-28-oic acid | 12313702 | Click to see CC1(CCC2(CCC3(C(=CCC4C3(CCC5C4(CCC(=O)C5(C)C)C)C)C2C1)C)C(=O)O)C | 454.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| 3-Oxolanosta-7,24Z-dien-26-oic acid | 73242216 | Click to see | 454.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1055/S-2002-26749 |
| 3beta-Dammar-24-ene-3,20-diol | 4481461 | Click to see | 444.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| 8a-(hydroxymethyl)-4,4,6a,6b,11,11,14b-heptamethyl-2,4a,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,12a,14,14a-dodecahydro-1H-picen-3-one | 72745643 | Click to see | 440.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| Lanosta-8,24-dien-3-ol | 856 | Click to see | 426.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| Masticadienolic acid | 102004474 | Click to see CC(CCC=C(C)C(=O)O)C1CCC2(C1(CCC3C2=CCC4C3(CCC(C4(C)C)O)C)C)C | 456.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1055/S-2002-26749 |
| Morolic Acid | 489944 | Click to see | 456.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1055/S-2002-26749 |
| Olean-12-ene-3beta,28-diol | 608886 | Click to see | 442.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| Oleanolic aldehyde | 10321055 | Click to see | 440.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
| Oleanonic Acid | 12313704 | Click to see | 454.70 | unknown |
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0014-2999(01)01290-0 https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(73)80709-5 |
Collections Top
| In private collections | 0 |
| In public collections | 0 |