Palo Santo Ispalla Incence

Palo santo is the heartwood of Bursera graveolens, a tree of the dry forests of Ecuador and Peru. The scent everyone knows only develops after the tree has died and the fallen wood has been left to season for years, which is why the sourcing matters and why a good stick smells sweet and resinous rather than merely smoky.

Ispalla make these in Peru. Palo santo is the one people reach for after a clearing rather than during it: sage or a resin to take something out of a room, palo santo to make the room somewhere you want to be again.

How to Burn It

Light the end, let it catch, then blow the flame out and let it smoke. Keep it over a dish, since it can spit an ember. Open a window if you are working in a small room.

Pair It With

The same wood as a raw stick, palo santo 4 inch, or in the Palo Santo Cleansing Water if you want the scent without smoke. For the clearing that comes first, a white sage bundle. Catch the ash on an abalone shell.