Rosin is also called colophony or Greek pitch (Pix græca). The name, colophony or colophonia resina comes from its origin in Colophon, an ancient Ionic city.
Rosin is a solid form of resin obtained from pines and some other plants, mostly conifers, such as Pinus palustris, the Longleaf Pine.
Nowadays, it is produced mainly by distillation of the oleo-resin collected on pines (commonly called turpentine) and is a kind of residue.
At room temperature, rosin is brittle and friable, from light-yellow to the deepest brown colour; it may be ground as powder.
It may be used as such, or modified to adjust its qualities to the needs of the different industries that use it as a raw material.

A natural adhesive

In the rough, rosin is used for its adhesive properties.
No string instrument would ever speak if the bow hair has not been previously rubbed with rosin, which grips the strings and make them speak.
Rosin is extensively used for its friction-increasing capacity in several fields: hands of handball or rugby players, to help them catch the ball.
Dancers are known to rub the tip and the heal of their shoes in powdered rosin to reduce slippage on dance …