Palo Santo: What It Is, How to Burn It and Where Ours Comes From

If you've ever walked past a market stall and caught something warm, sweet and a little citrusy in the air, there's a good chance it was palo santo. It's a fragrant wood from South America that's burned a bit like incense, and lighting a stick has become one of my favourite ways to mark the end of a working day.

 

It's also one of the most misunderstood things I sell. There's a lot of confusion online about whether it's endangered, a fair few overblown claims about what it does, and surprisingly little about how to actually burn it. So here's the honest version, all in one place.

 

 

What is palo santo?

 

Palo santo means holy wood in Spanish, and the tree it comes from is Bursera graveolens. It grows wild in the dry tropical forests of Central America and the north west of South America, including Ecuador and Peru, and it belongs to the same plant family as frankincense and myrrh. Once you've smelled all three, that family resemblance makes a lot of sense.

 

The part I find fascinating is that a living palo santo tree has hardly any scent at all. The fragrance only builds up in the heartwood after the tree has died naturally and spent years lying on the forest floor, slowly changing as it ages. That's why good palo santo can't be rushed, and why wood taken from a living tree is a poor substitute.

 

Most of the scent comes from limonene, the same compound that gives citrus peel its smell, alongside a softer note called alpha terpineol.

 

 

What does palo santo smell like?

 

Unlit, a good stick smells sweet and woody with a bright citrus edge, and it's surprisingly strong for something so small. Once it's burning, the smoke turns softer and more resinous, a little like frankincense with a squeeze of orange running through it. The scent hangs around in a room for a while after the stick has gone out, which is a big part of its charm.

 

If a stick smells of very little before you light it, that's usually a sign the wood wasn't aged for long enough. More on that below.

 

 

Is palo santo endangered?

 

You've probably seen posts saying there are only a handful of palo santo trees left. They pop up every so often, and they come from a genuine mix up between two completely different trees that share the same Spanish name.

 

The palo santo you burn, Bursera graveolens, is assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The other one, Bulnesia sarmientoi, is a dense hardwood from the Gran Chaco region of Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay, and that's the one whose trade is restricted under the international CITES agreement after years of heavy logging. Different family, different region and a very different story.

 

That doesn't mean anything goes, though. The dry forests where Bursera graveolens grows are under pressure, and illegal cutting of live trees does happen. Peru has protected the tree since 2006: cutting live trees is banned, only naturally fallen or dead wood can be collected, and selling it needs paperwork proving where it came from, which the national forestry service, SERFOR, enforces (Andina).

 

Our palo santo comes from Peru and is collected only from naturally fallen wood.

 

What to look for when you buy

 

• The country it came from should be stated, usually Ecuador or Peru.
• It should say naturally fallen or dead wood, never wood cut from a living tree.
• Well aged sticks are darker, often with amber streaks through the grain, feel heavy for their size and smell strongly before you've lit them. Pale, light wood that smells of very little was usually collected too soon.

 

 

How to burn palo santo

 

Palo santo works a little differently to an incense stick. Rather than keeping a flame going, you light it just long enough to get a good ember, then let it smoulder.

 

1. Hold the stick at an angle, with the end you're lighting pointing slightly downwards, and light it with a match or lighter.
2. Let it burn for around 30 seconds, until the flame has properly caught.
3. Gently blow the flame out. The tip should glow and release a thin ribbon of fragrant smoke.
4. Rest it in a heatproof holder while it smoulders, or walk it slowly around the room with the holder underneath to catch any ash.
5. It will usually go out on its own after a minute or two. Light it again whenever you'd like a little more.
6. To put it out sooner, press the glowing tip gently into the holder or a dish of sand until the smoke stops.

 

You can relight the same stick lots of times, and it usually catches more easily from the end that's already been burned. When it's too short to hold comfortably, it's time for a fresh one.

 

 

 

Burning it safely

 

A smouldering stick might be small, but it's still a glowing ember and deserves the same care you'd give a candle. In 2019, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue were called to two house fires in one morning, both started by incense sticks left unattended (Peterborough Today).

 

• Use a heatproof holder that catches the ash, on a flat, steady surface.
• Keep it out of draughts and well away from curtains, furniture and anything else that could catch.
• Never leave it smouldering in an empty room, and make sure it's completely out before bed or before you head out.
• Keep sticks and lighters out of reach of children and pets.
• Open a window while it's burning, as NHS asthma guidance lists candles and incense among the indoor triggers (NHS Healthier Together).
• Burn it well away from any pet birds, as their lungs are far more sensitive to smoke than ours (The Parrot Society UK).

 

If you or anyone at home has asthma or another breathing condition, it's worth a quick chat with your GP or asthma nurse before making it a regular thing. You can still enjoy palo santo unlit, too. A stick resting in a bowl will gently scent a shelf or a drawer.

 

 

What are the benefits of palo santo?

 

In Ecuador and Peru, palo santo has been part of everyday life for generations. It's burned to cleanse and purify a home, used in folk remedies for aches and pains, and its smoke is a traditional way of keeping mosquitoes away (Expreso). For many communities it's part of spiritual and healing traditions too, so it's worth treating with a little respect rather than as just another wellness trend.

 

Burning something fragrant to change how a space feels is one of the oldest habits there is. Ayurveda has its own version called dhoopana, where herbs are burned and the smoke is used both as a treatment and to purify the surroundings (Chouragade, 2021).

 

These days, plenty of people use palo santo as a small ritual. They light a stick before yoga or meditation, or when a room needs a reset after guests have gone.

 

There's very little research in people on what palo santo smoke does for mood or wellbeing, so I'd take any big promises with a pinch of salt. Where it comes into its own is the scent. Smell has a very direct line to the parts of the brain that handle emotion and memory, which I've written about in Scent and the Limbic System. So if lighting a stick becomes your signal that the day is done, that link is real, and it grows stronger the more you repeat it.

 

 

Our palo santo and the Solis Holder

 

Our palo santo sticks come singly or in packs of three, six or ten, so you can try one before stocking up.

 

For somewhere to rest your stick while it smoulders, there's The Solis Holder. It's cast by hand with a soft, stone-like finish and a dip in the centre that catches the ember and ash, and it comes with a palo santo stick, ready to light the day it arrives. Each piece is made individually, which means no two are quite the same, and the photos on the product page show the exact one you'll receive.

 

 

Do message me with any questions about palo santo, or anything else in the Sanctuary collection. I answer them all myself and I'm always happy to help.