Catechu Tincture & Alcohol-Free Extract

Catechu (Acacia catechu, now placed by Kew in Senegalia as Senegalia catechu), also called khair or cutch tree, is a thorny deciduous tree of the pea family, Fabaceae, native to India, Nepal, Myanmar, and Thailand, where it grows in dry forests and along rivers. It reaches 10 to 15 meters with dark grey-brown, deeply cracked bark, paired hooked thorns, feathery bipinnate leaves of many tiny leaflets, and pale yellow flower spikes followed by flat brown pods. The red heartwood, chipped and boiled down, yields catechu or cutch, a dark brown, intensely astringent solid that colors khaki cloth and goes into Indian paan. We extract the dried herb.