sandarac

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A coniferous evergreen tree (Tetraclinis articulata) of Spain and northern Africa, having flattened branches, scalelike leaves, and bark that yields a hard brittle translucent resin used in varnishes.
2. n. The resin of this tree.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. In mineralogy, red sulphuret, or protosulphuret, of arsenic; realgar.
2. n. A resin in white tears, more transparent than those of mastic, which exudes from the bark of the sandarac-tree, Callitris quadrivalvis. (See sandarac-tree.) It is used as pounce-powder for strewing over erasures on paper (see pounce), as incense, and for making a pale varnish for light-colored woods. It was formerly renowned as a medicine. Australian species of Callitris yield a similar resin. Also called juniper-resin, gum juniper.

Wiktionary

1. n. mineralogy, archaic realgar; red sulphide of arsenic.
2. n. botany, chemistry A white or yellow resin obtained from a Barbary tree (Callitris quadrivalvis or Thuya articulata), and pulverized for pounce; probably so called from a resemblance to the mineral.
3. n. Any tree from the genus Tetraclinis.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a brittle and faintly aromatic translucent resin used in varnishes
2. n. durable fragrant wood; used in building (as in the roof of the cathedral at Cordova, Spain)
3. n. large coniferous evergreen tree of North Africa and Spain having flattened branches and scalelike leaves yielding a hard fragrant wood; bark yields a resin used in varnishes