Breu Branco

Protium heptaphyllum

Also known as Almécega, Brazilian Elemi, Amescla, Breu

At a glance

Family

Burseraceae, the frankincense and myrrh family

Type

Resin-producing tropical tree

Parts used

Oleoresin (hardened sap tapped from the trunk), bark

Size

About 15 to 30 feet in cultivation, taller in wild rainforest stands

Bloom

Small, five-petaled greenish white flowers in loose clusters

Habitat

Amazon rainforest, Brazilian cerrado, and tropical coastal forests of South America

Acquisition

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Key benefits

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Traditionally eases sore joints

Soothes minor skin irritation

Traditionally supports easy breathing

Burned for cleansing, sacred smoke

Traditional uses

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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.

How to grow & use it

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Pairs well with

✦Copal
✦Palo Santo
✦Frankincense (Boswellia)

Substitutes

✦Frankincense (Boswellia)
✦Copal

Choose it when

“For a slow, clean-burning resin that carries the hush of the rainforest into any room.”

Did you know?

Breu branco belongs to the very same botanical family as true frankincense, and its resin smells so similar that Brazilian churches once burned it in processions as a homegrown stand-in when imported Boswellia incense from the Old World was too costly to import.

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.