Sandarac

Sandarac (or sandarach) is a resin obtained from the small cypress-like tree Tetraclinis articulata.

The tree is native to the northwest of Africa with a notable presence in the Southern Morocco part of the Atlas Mountains.

It comes to commerce in the form of small solid chips, translucent, and having a delicate yellow tinge.

[5] In mid-to-late 19th century photography, a varnish was applied as a preservative to photographic negatives and positives.

[9] In Mandaean texts, the Mandaic term sindirka, which is typically translated as 'date palm' by E. S. Drower and others, is instead identified by Carlos Gelbert (2023) as a cognate of sandarac and thus with Tetraclinis articulata.