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Biancaea sappan
Also called Indian redwood, Sappan
Sappanwood is a small, thorny, seasonally dry tropical tree or scrambling shrub in the pea family, grown mainly for its heartwood dye. It tolerates heat and dry spells and is hardy in full sun.
Biancaea sappan is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is native to tropical Asia. Common names in English include sappan (after Malay sepang), sappanwood and Indian redwood. It was previously ascribed to the genus Caesalpinia. Sappanwood is related to brazilwood (Paubrasilia echinata), and was itself called brasilwood in the Middle Ages.
It is native to Nepal and the eastern Himalayas, northeastern India, Bangladesh, and Indochina. It has been introduced to much of the Indian Subcontinent, southern China, Malesia, Papuasia, and parts of tropical Africa.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Biancaea sappan by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
