Sappan is a small thorny spreading tree, grows up to 10 m in height and the wood reaches 15-30 cm in diameter. It bears 3-4 seeds, ellipsoid, brown to black coloured. Sappan is a natural dye yielding medicinal plant. In India it is cultivated in gardens and nurseries as a live fence plant in parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal and nowhere is it found in the wild. Sappan consists of the heartwood of Caesalpinia Sappan, Linn. (N.O. Leguminosae), a tree indigenous to India. The wood occurs in red, hard, heavy pieces, or in orange-red chips. It is whitish when freshly cut, but becomes red on exposure to air. Sappan is official in India and the Eastern Colonies for use in place of logwood as an astringent.