Description

Pinus roxburghii, the chir pine or long-leaf Indian pine, is a large evergreen conifer of the family Pinaceae, native to the subtropical and warm temperate Himalayan foothills from Afghanistan through India (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh hills) and Nepal to Bhutan at elevations between 1,000 and 2,300 metres. The tree is the most extensively tapped pine for resin in India, with a major commercial turpentine industry centred in Himachal Pradesh. The oleoresin — Biroja — is tapped by making V-shaped cuts in the bark and collecting the pale yellow exudate, which is distilled to produce oil of turpentine and rosin. In Unani medicine, Biroza is documented as an expectorant, antiseptic, and warming external preparation. In Ayurveda, pine resin (Sarala in certain texts) is incorporated in preparations for skin conditions and as a fumigation (Dhupana) material.