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Pau D’Arco bark comes from a tree that makes its habitat predominantly in Argentina and Brazil, but which also grows in other tropical areas. The tree grows as tall as 30 meters and is known by the name taheebo. Unlike other trees in the area, pau d’arco does not develop fungus growth. The tree bark was one of the major plants used to promote health and immunity among the Incas, and its use has continued among the Callawaya tribe in South America.
Pau d’arco contains a chemical called lapachol, which may provide nutritional support to the immune system. The bark is stripped by hand vertically from the ground up about 6 or 7 feet, leaving enough bark intact to ensure the life of the tree. Nature’s Sunshine’s pau d’arco comes from Brazil. It is available in a variety of forms, including capsules, bulk for tea, liquid extract and soothing, softening lotion.
The Pau D' Arco evergreen tree grows in the warm parts of Central and South America. Most pau d'arco comes from a tree in the Amazon rain forest called Tabebuia avellanedae. It is a broad-leaf evergreen that grows to a height of 125 feet and is distinguished by pink to violet colored flowers. Its extremely hard wood makes it resistant to disease and decay. In recent years, however, there has been an increasing demand for pau d'arco and, as a result, the trees are in danger of becoming extinct.
Most of the chemical research on pau d'arco has been done on the wood and not the bark, although it is in fact the inner bark that has been used traditionally for medicinal purposes. In addition, there are a variety of Tabebuia species that have been tested for anti-infectious and anti-cancer properties, not only avellanedae . Therefore, it is difficult to know at this point what findings apply specifically to pau d'arco and which apply to other species of this plant. The heartwood of Tabebuia avellanedae contains chemical compounds called naphthoquinones such as lapachol, as well as significant amounts of the antioxidant quercetin.
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PAU D' ARCO 