Sandarach
SANDARACH (Fr. sandaraque, Lat. sandaraca, Gr. <ra.vdap6.iai, realgar or red sulphide of arsenic, cf. Pers. sandarus, kt. sindura, realgar), in mineralogy realgar or native arsenic disulphide, but generally (a use found in Dioscorides) a resinous body obtained from the small coniferous tree Callitris quadrivalvis, native of the north-west regions of Africa, and especially characteristic of the Atlas mountains. The resin, which is procured as a natural exudation on the stems, and also obtained by making incisions in the bark of the trees, comes into commerce in the form of small round balls or elongated tears, transparent, and having a delicate yellow tinge. It is a little harder than mastic, for which it is sometimes substituted. It is also used as incense, and by the Arabs medicinally as a remedy for diarrhoea. It has no medicinal advantages over many of the resins employed in modern therapeutics. An analogous resin is procured in China from Callitris sinensis, and in S. Australia, under the name of pine gum, from C. Reissii.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
