FAMILY: SUMAC (ANACARDIACEAE)
Trees or shrubs, rarely herbs. Leaves are usually alternate, simple, or compound. Flowers are regular, polypetalous, and small, arranged in paniculate inflorescences; stamens are 5–10, with a superior ovary. The fruit is a drupe or nut.
Representatives of the family are few and grow in southern regions.
Many species are rich in tannins and tannic acid, often containing resins and essential oils located in resin canals found in the phloem of the trunk and along the leaf veins.
Among wild-growing species of this family, there are three genera: Pistacia, Cotinus, and Rhus. All have medicinal significance as sources of tannins.
PISTACHIO TREE — PISTACIA VERA
A low, dioecious tree with a broad crown. Leaves are pinnately compound, with three or more large, elliptical leaflets. The flowers are inconspicuous, with a single perianth. The fruit is a dry drupe. The seed is known as the edible nut, pistachio, with a green kernel.
Gall formations develop on the leaves, caused by aphids. Galls occur singly or in groups of 1–3, taking the form of hollow, blister-like, pear-shaped structures (0.5–3 cm in length) with a pinkish hue.
Pistachio trees form groves along the slopes of Central Asia and are also widely cultivated.
Galls, called buzguncha, contain 30–45% tannins and resins and have been proposed for use as an astringent. The leaves contain 13–17% tannins.
The Kev tree (Pistacia mutica F. et M.) forms pistachio woodlands in the Caucasus and Crimea. Leaves contain up to 20% tannins, while the drupes are inedible but yield 60% fatty oil. The trunk produces resin and up to 25% essential oil.