Medicinals

sū mù / 苏木 / 蘇木 / sappan [wood];

Latin pharmacognostic name: Sappan Lignum

Alternate English names: brazilwood

Alternate Chinese names: 苏仿 sū fǎng; 棕木 zōng mù; 红柴 hóng chái; 赤木 chì mù; 苏方木 sū fāng mù; 苏仿木 sū fǎng mù

Origin: Plant

Use: medicinal

Category: Blood-Quickening Stasis-dispelling agents / Blood-quickening injury-healing agents

Properties: Sweet, salty, acrid; balanced. (Some sources only give acrid as the flavor.)

Channel entry: heart and liver channels.

Indications:

Dosage & Method:

Oral: 3–10g in decoctions. Also used topically as a powder.

Warning:

Contraindicated in pregnancy.

Product Description:

Sappan wood comes ready-cut for decoction in irregular rectangles of wood about 0.5–1 mm thick, and usually about 1 cm wide, and dark or light tan in color, some being yellowish white at the edges. The pieces break easily.

Quality:

The best quality comes from large firm branches. It is hard and bears a reddish hue.

Product Area:

India, Malaysia, and cultivated in Guǎngxī, Yúnnán, Guǎngdōng, and Táiwān.

Etymology:

The names sū mù 苏木 and sū fāng mù 苏方木 derive from the name of the original production area, the island country Su Fang. The English brazilwood reflects the use of this wood in the west to make a red dye (Portuguese brasa, live coals).

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