Botanical atlas

Breu Branco

Protium heptaphyllum

Long before this tree had a Latin name, Indigenous and caboclo communities of the Amazon were slicing shallow cuts into its trunk and returning days later to gather the fragrant amber resin that wept from the bark. That resin, known across Brazil as breu branco, became part of daily life, rubbed near aching joints, worked into salves for the skin, and burned as incense to clear the air of homes and to scent religious processions in place of the European frankincense that was scarce and costly in the colonial Amazon. Rubber tappers and river communities still gather it today much as their grandparents did, and it remains one of the most familiar resins sold in herb stalls and markets throughout northern Brazil.

Safety.

Breu branco resin is traditionally used externally and isn't known to be toxic, but it hasn't been studied for internal use, so it's best kept as a topical wash. It comes from the same resin family as frankincense and myrrh, so patch test first if you're sensitive to those.