Khair Wood

Khair wood is used for diarrhea, swelling of the nose and throat, dysentery, swelling of the colon (colitis), bleeding, indigestion, osteoarthritis, and cancer. People apply catechu directly to the skin for skin conditions, hemorrhoids, and traumatic injuries; to stop bleeding; and to treat wounds.

Khair tree or Senegalia catechu, the khair tree, is used for navgrah shanti puja in Hindu mythology. The khair tree is also known as Senegalia catechu.

Senegalia catechu is a deciduous, thorny tree that can grow up to 15 m tall. The plant is called khair in Hindi and kachu in Malay, hence the name was Latinized to “catechu” in Linnaean taxonomy, as the species from which the extracts cutchchu and catechu are derived. Common names include catechu, cashew, cut tree, black cutch, and black catechu.

Senegalia catechu is found in Asia, China, India, and the Indian Ocean.