Chinese Pistache

taxobox
name = Chinese Pistache

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image_caption = "Pistacia chinensis" with autumn colour
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Eudicots
unranked_ordo = Rosids
ordo = Sapindales
familia = Anacardiaceae
genus = "Pistacia"
species = "P. chinensis"
binomial = "Pistacia chinensis"
binomial_authority = L.|

Chinese Pistache ("Pistacia chinensis") is a small to medium-sized tree native to central and western China. It is hardy and can withstand harsh conditions as well as poor quality soil.

It grows from 9-15 m tall, exceptionally up to 25 m. The leaves are deciduous, pinnate, 20-25 cm long, with 10 or 12 leaflets, the terminal leaflet usually (but not invariably) absent. The flowers are produced in panicles 15-20 cm long at the ends of the branches; it is dioecious, with separate male and female plants. The fruit is a small red drupe containing a single seed. Chinese Pistache grows best in full sun, being intolerant of shade; it is the most frost-tolerant species of "Pistacia", tolerating temperatures down to about -25°C. Yet it is most highly regarded in warm climates. It is planted for its impressive fall colors, which develop at least as far south as Orlando, Florida. In the low-elevation deserts of Arizona, it is the only tree whose leaves turn scarlet in fall.

In China the oil from the seeds is used for biodiesel production.