page_title: Turpentine
section_title: Source trees
hierarchical_section_title: Turpentine / Source trees
caption_attribution_description: Turpentine trees. Northern Florida
context_page_description: Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. It is mainly used as a solvent, and as a source of material for organic syntheses.
  Turpentine is composed of terpenes, primarily the monoterpenes alpha- and beta-pinene, with lesser amounts of carene, camphene, dipentene, and terpinolene.
  The word turpentine derives, from the Greek word τερεβινθίνη terebinthine, in turn the feminine form of an adjective derived from the Greek noun, for the tree species terebinth. Mineral turpentine or other petroleum distillates are used to replace turpentine – although their chemistries are very different.
context_section_description: One of the earliest sources of turpentine was the terebinth or turpentine tree (Pistacia terebinthus), a Mediterranean tree related to the pistachio.  Important pines for turpentine production include: maritime pine (Pinus pinaster), Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), Masson's pine (Pinus massoniana), Sumatran pine (Pinus merkusii), longleaf pine (Pinus palustris), loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa).
  Canada balsam, also called Canada turpentine or balsam of fir, is a turpentine which is made from the oleoresin of the balsam fir.  Venice turpentine is produced from the western larch Larix occidentalis.
  To tap into the sap producing layers of the tree, turpentiners used a combination of hacks to remove the pine bark. Once debarked, pine trees secrete oleoresin onto the surface of the wound as a protective measure to seal the opening, resist exposure to micro-organisms and insects, and prevent vital sap loss. Turpentiners wounded trees in V-shaped streaks down the length of the trunks to channel the oleoresin into containers. It was then collected and processed into spirits of turpentine.  Oleoresin yield may be increased by as much as 40% by applying paraquat herbicides to the exposed wood.
  The V-shaped cuts are called "catfaces" for their resemblance to a cat's whiskers. These marks on a pine tree signify it was used to collect resin for turpentine production.
caption: "Herty system" in use on turpentine trees in Northern Florida, circa 1936
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