The bark of the purple oilwood is the bark of the plant Santalum album, which belongs to the family Anacardiaceae. It is a very important hemostatic Chinese medicine. After drying and grinding, it can be directly applied to wounds to treat external bleeding. Let's learn more about purple oilwood!
[Characteristics of Purple Oilwood Bark]
Purple oilwood is an evergreen shrub or small tree, 2-8m tall, rarely reaching 10-15m. The bark is gray, with brown lenticels on the twigs, and the young twigs are covered with gray-yellow soft hairs.
Compound leaves are pinnately arranged, with 4-9 pairs of leaflets, and the leaf axis has narrow wings and grooves on the upper surface, and is covered with grayish soft hairs. The leaflets have very short petioles;
The fruit is spherical, about 5mm long and 6mm in diameter. When ripe, it is red with a pointed tip and reticulated on the top.
[Cultivation of Purple Oilwood Bark]
Purple oilwood bark grows in limestone forests or shrubs at an altitude of 580-2700m. It is distributed in southwestern China, Guangxi, Tibet, and other regions.
It prefers warm and humid climates, and is suitable for cultivation in well-drained areas with sufficient sunlight. Due to the deep roots of the plant, it is suitable for planting on sandy loam with deep soil and rich humus.
It is propagated by seeds. Harvest mature and plump fruits, dry them, and store them in sand. Sow in the following spring in March, open furrows for sowing, with a row spacing of 30cm and a seed spacing of 5cm. After covering with soil, water the soil to keep it moist.
[Medicinal Uses of Purple Oilwood Bark]
Purple oilwood bark can be used as an important hemostatic Chinese medicine. After drying and grinding the purple oilwood bark into powder, it can be applied to wounds to effectively stop bleeding and has remarkable effects in the treatment of external bleeding.
Purple oilwood bark can be used medicinally for anti-inflammatory, detoxifying, and astringent effects. Boiling the top branches with leaves can effectively treat diarrhea. After drying the leaves, grinding them into fine powder can be used as raw materials for temple incense. The fruit contains oil and has a tooth-strengthening effect, and it is effective for some cases of tinea versicolor.
Tannin can be extracted from purple oilwood bark and used as a medicinal monomer, cosmetic, and tanning material.
