Chinese pistachio seedling

Native to China, Taiwan, and the Philippines, Chinese pistache is a deciduous tree reaching 30-35 feet tall with a rounded crown and exfoliating gray-brown bark. Hardy to USDA Zone 6, it's dioecious with separate male and female plants and features pinnately compound leaves with 10-12 narrow leaflets.

Female trees produce small ornamental drupes (¼ inch) that ripen from red to blue-black in October. The fruit is inedible to humans but attracts birds. This species does not produce edible pistachio nuts.

Introduced to Western horticulture as a street and landscape tree, it became the first shade tree to receive Earth-Kind® designation from Texas Agricultural Extension Service. Now widely planted across USDA Zones 6-9 in the southern and western U.S., valued as one of the few trees combining spectacular fall color with exceptional drought tolerance, heat resistance, and pollution tolerance.