The lentisk is an evergreen shrub or small tree indigenous to the Mediterranean including the Maltese islands. It grows in dry rocky areas even in saline environments close to the sea but it sometimes grows on the sides of valleys and canyons.

The lentisk, known in Maltese as deru or siġra tad-deru, flowers in spring. In late summer and early autumn each tree produces thousands of small red berries which become black when they ripen.

Birds love these berries. Small fruit-eating birds migrating across the Mediterranean often stop in areas where lentisk trees grow to feed on the berries. This helps them to store enough fat in their bodies to be able to continue the rest of their journey to Africa.

Often, the lentisk remains small and takes the shape of a bush but if the conditions are right and it lives long, it can grow into a seven-metre-high tree. Such old trees can be found on the Greek island of Chios where they are cultivated for the production of mastic, an aromatic resin which is produced from the tree’s scarred bark.

Small fruit-eating birds migrating across the Mediterranean often stop in areas where lentisk trees grow to feed on the berries

The ivory-coloured liquid ‘weeps’ out of the bark and when the air temperature drops in winter, it hardens into a brittle hard resin, which is often chewed like chewing gum. In fact, the word ‘masticate’ is derived from the Greek word for chewing.

Mastic chewing has been popular since antiquity and the lentisk tree was already well known in biblical times.

Mastic resin has culinary uses especially as a spice to flavour spirits and liquors, cakes, sweets and desserts such as the Turkish delight. It is also used as an ingredient in the production of cosmetics, toothpaste, hair and skin lotions, as well as perfumes.

Mastic also has medicinal uses. It has been used for thousands of years to cure intestinal and digestive problems. It can also reduce cholesterol levels and has antibacterial and antifungal properties.

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