The Bloodwood Tree

[IceWizard]

The Bloodwood Tree


Trees come in all different shapes and sizes.
While many seem similar if not identical to the average person,
there is one that is undeniable unique.
The Bloodwood Tree.
The tree's name is due to it's sap,
which is the same color and consistency as blood:

Pterocarpus angolensis is a kind of teak native to southern Africa,
known by various names such as Kiaat, Mukwa, and Muninga.
It is also called the Bloodwood tree, so named for the tree’s remarkable
dark red colored sap. A chopped trunk or or a damaged branch of the
tree starts dripping deep red fluid, almost like a severed limb of an animal.
The sticky, reddish-brown sap seals the wound to promote healing.
The sap is actually a gum known as "Kino"

The red sap is used traditionally as a dye and in some areas mixed with
animal fat to make a cosmetic for faces and bodies. It is also believed to
have magical properties for the curing of problems concerning blood,
apparently because of its close resemblance to blood. The tree is also used
for treating many medical conditions such as ringworm, stabbing pains,
eye problems, malaria, blackwater fever, stomach problems and to increase
the supply of breast milk.

The wood makes high-quality furniture, as it can be easily carved, glues and
screws well and takes a fine polish. It shrinks very little when drying from
the green condition, and this quality, together with its high durability,
makes it particularly suitable for boat building, canoes and bathroom floors.

Because of its great value to the indigenous peoples of the central and
southern Africa, these trees are being harvested at an unsustainable rate
leading to its decline in recent decades.

The Bloodwood tree grows 12 to 18 meters tall, has dark-brown rough bark,
a beautiful umbrella-shaped spreading crown and bears yellow flowers.













Bloodwood Tree Sap, cut by chainsaw.
Pterocarpus angolensis is a kind of teak native to southern Africa,
known by various names such as Kiaat, Mukwa, and Muninga.