Pistacia lentiscus is a shrub or small tree of the pistacio genus which is cultivated for its aromatic resin, mainly on the Greek island of Chios. it has a strong smell of resin. It grows in dry and rocky areas. It serves as protection and food for birds and other fauna in this ecosystem. The aromatic, ivory-coloured resin, also known as mastic, is harvested as a spice from the cultivated mastic trees grown in the south of the Greek island of Chios in the Aegean Sea, where it is also known by the name Chios tears.