Sandarac Tree

Also known as Barbary Thuja, Sandarac, Alerce, Gharghar

Sandarac trees thrive in arid, rocky limestone hillsides across the western Mediterranean where few other conifers can survive. Resilient to drought and fire, they sprout vigorously from their swollen base stump after severe burning or cutting. Their aromatic resin, harvested for millennia as sandarac varnish, produces a warm, incense-like scent when crushed or exposed to sun.