Palo Santo (Bursera Graveolens) – Sustainably Harvested Cut & Sifted Wood from Peru

Family: Burseraceae (Copal family)

“Holy Wood” or “Sacred tree” is a natural aromatic incense wood. It has a wonderfully calming, soothing fragrance, with a powerful energy.

Our “Lambayeque” wood is gathered under government supervision by the native people from the region from protected trees. They collect the windfall of very old trees. The indigenous peoples consider them sacred for endless generations.

You can burn the powdered or shredded wood on charcoal discs or use it in your own incense bends.

Other names: Palo de la vida, Sacred Wood, Holy wood, St. Anthony`s wood, Palosanto, Mallka Waki.

Palo Santo History

Palo Santo has been used by the Incas for generations. Shamans in the Andean mountains still use it as part of their curing rituals. It is a great companion in Ayahuasca ceremonies. Its sacred properties and distinctly enjoyable aroma have only very recently been rediscovered by modern man. Nowadays you can find it in the streets of Quito where the salesmen shout “Palo Santo for good luck”. The essential oil of the  tree has many applications in aromatherapy. Palo Santo has been and still is, widely used in Kambo treatments, to help expel negative energies and toxins from the body.

Plant Info

Bursera graveolens belongs to the Burseraceae (Copal family) and inhabits the South American Gran Chaco region (northern Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and the Brazilian Mato Grosso). It is also common on the coast of Ecuador. It is related to the Frankincense (Boswellia carteri) tree. The Palo Santo tree has no branches on the lower part of the trunk, and within a radius of several yards not a leaf or a blade of grass will grow. It is a soft, light wood, usually found near the river banks, and is the favorite haunt of colonies of the Brazilian fire ant, a vicious insect with an extremely painful bite. Touch the tree, and armies of these ants rush out from holes in the trunk eager to attack, even dropping from branches above on to the trespasser.