The pistachio, (, -, ; Pistacia vera) a member of the cashew family, is a small tree originating from Central Asia and the Middle East. Pistachio trees can be found in regions of Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Xinjiang (China), Tunisia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, India, Egypt, Italy (Sicily), Uzbekistan, Afghanistan (especially in the provinces of Samangan and Badghis), and the United States, specifically in California. It is indigenous to the eastern Mediterranean (Cyprus and Turkey to Israel and Syria), Central Asia (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan) and Xinjiang. The tree produces seeds that are widely consumed as food. Pistacia vera often is confused with other species in the genus Pistacia that are also known as pistachio. These species can be distinguished from P. vera by their geographic distributions (in the wild), and their seeds which are much smaller and have a shell that is soft.
