Description

Botanical name:Tabebuia impetiginosa

Origin: Brazil

restorative rainforest evergreen

Pau d’Arco is a large South American rainforest tree that is also known as trumpet tree, lapacho Colorado, ipe roxo and various other common names. The tree is enjoyed in the wild because it produces attractive shade-giving foliage and colorful flowers, but in commercial cultivation it is grown for the purpose of harvesting the bark. The inner pith contains organic compounds, most notably lapachol and beta-lapachone. Because these compounds do not yield easily to water, the bark must be simmered in boiling water for at least 15 minutes to extract them. Powdered pau d’Arco is usually encapsulated as a dietary supplement.