Biancaea sappan is a species of floweringtree in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is native to tropical Asia. Common names in English include sappanwood and Indian redwood.[2] It was previously ascribed to the genus Caesalpinia.[3] Sappanwood is related to brazilwood (Paubrasilia echinata), and was itself called brasilwood in the Middle Ages.[4]
This plant has many uses. It has antibacterial and anticoagulant properties.[citation needed] It also produces a valuable reddish dye called brazilin, used for dyeing fabric as well as making red paints and inks.[a] Slivers of heartwood are used for making herbal drinking water in various regions, such as Kerala, Karnataka and Central Java, where it is usually mixed with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. The heartwood also contains juglone (5-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone), which has antimicrobial activity.[7] Homoisoflavonoids (sappanol, episappanol, 3'-deoxysappanol, 3'-O-methylsappanol, 3'-O-methylepisappanol[8] and sappanone A[9]) can also be found in B. sappan.
The wood is somewhat lighter in color than brazilwood and other related trees. Sappanwood was a major trade good during the 17th century, when it was exported from Southeast Asian nations (especially Thailand) aboard red seal ships to Japan.
Gallery
Leaves, flower buds
Fruits
Bark
Plantlings
Notes
^"From the Yoshimua Dye-works archive, we
have learned that in 1845, the expensive safflower red was subsitituted or diluted with sappan (Caesalpinia sappan L.) and
turmeric (Curcuma longa L.)."[6]: 1
^Von Muralt, Malou (November 2006). "A árvore que se tornou país" [The tree that became a country]. Revista da USP (in Brazilian Portuguese). 71. Translated by Campos, Regina: 171–198. ISSN0103-9989. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
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