Guaiacum (/ˈɡwaɪ.ə.kəm/[3][4]), sometimes spelled Guajacum, is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of slow-growing shrubs and trees, reaching a height of approximately 20 m (66 ft) but usually less than half of that. All are native to subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas and are commonly known as lignum-vitae, guayacán (Spanish), or gaïac (French).[5] The genus name originated in Taíno, the language spoken by the native Taínos of the Bahamas; it was adopted into English in 1533, the first word in that language of American origin.[6]
Members of the genus have a variety of uses, including as lumber, for medicinal purposes, and as ornamentals. The trade of all species of Guaiacum is controlled under CITES Appendix II.[7]
Guaiacum officinale is the national flower of Jamaica,[8] while Guaiacum sanctum is the national tree of the Bahamas.[9]
^"Genus: Guaiacum L". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2008-05-20. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2009-09-25.
^Entry "guaiacum" in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, retrieved 2013-04-30.
^Grandtner, Miroslav M. (2005). Elsevier's Dictionary of Trees: With Names in Latin, English, French, Spanish and Other Languages. Vol. 1. Elsevier. pp. 389–391. ISBN 978-0-444-51784-5.
^Bailey, Richard W (2004). "Part I - American English: its origins and history". In Edward Finegan; John R. Rickford (eds.). Language in the USA: Themes for the Twenty-first Century. Cambridge University Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-521-77747-6.
^Gordon, J. E.; González, M. A.; Vázquez Hernández, J.; Ortega Lavariega, R.; Reyes-García, A. (2005). "Guaiacum coulteri an over-logged dry forest tree of Oaxaca, Mexico". Oryx. 39 (1). Fauna & Flora International: 82–85. doi:10.1017/s0030605305000141.
^"National Symbols". Emancipation & Independence. Jamaica Information Service. Archived from the original on 2011-10-28. Retrieved 2009-12-06.
^"National Symbols of the Bahamas". Bahamas Facts and Figures. TheBahamasGuide. Archived from the original on 2009-12-21. Retrieved 2009-12-06.
Guaiacum (/ˈɡwaɪ.ə.kəm/), sometimes spelled Guajacum, is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of...
Guaiacum officinale, commonly known as roughbark lignum-vitae, guaiacwood or gaïacwood, is a species of tree in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae, that...
Guaiacum sanctum, commonly known as holywood, lignum vitae or holywood lignum-vitae, is a species of flowering plant in the creosote bush family, Zygophyllaceae...
wood, also called guayacan or guaiacum, and in parts of Europe known as Pockholz or pokhout, from trees of the genus Guaiacum. The trees are indigenous to...
Guaiacum coulteri is a species of flowering plant in the family Zygophyllaceae, that is native to western Mexico and Guatemala. Rivers, M.C. (2017). "Guaiacum...
Guaiacum angustifolium is a species of flowering plant in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. Common names include Texas guaiacum, Texas lignum-vitae...
explorers reached North America in the 16th century. The Spanish encountered guaiacum wood "when they conquered Santo Domingo; it was soon brought back to Europe...
Boswellia sacra, galbanum from Ferula gummosa, gum guaiacum from the lignum vitae trees of the genus Guaiacum, kauri gum from trees of Agathis australis, hashish...
discussing the use of guaiacum for treatment of syphilis. Although guaiacum did not have the unpleasant side effects of mercury, guaiacum was not particularly...
used in soap and perfumery. Despite its name it does not come from the Guaiacum tree, but from the palo santo tree (Bulnesia sarmientoi). Oil of guaiac...
amazonica) India – Indian lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) Jamaica – lignum vitae (Guaiacum officinale) Kenya – the tropical orchid Kiribati – Bidens kiribatiensis...
pork in a wooden mortar and pestle called a pilón (made with mahogany or guaiacum, both native hardwoods) and shaped more or less into a ball and in or alongside...
Ltd, see John C. Kerr Lignum vitae, trade wood from trees of the genus Guaiacum Lignumvitae Key, island in the Florida Keys Vitex lignum-vitae, Australian...
in the Caribbean of which 6,500 are endemic. For example, guaiac wood (Guaiacum officinale), the flower of which is the national flower of Jamaica and...
vitae". They are close relatives of the "true" lignum vitae trees of genus Guaiacum. Bulnesia arborea – Maracaibo lignum vitae; 'True' Verawood Bulnesia bonariensis...
minute. In 1901, it was observed that the compound made the tincture of guaiacum tincture turn blue, a sign of oxygen being released. Around 1905, Loevenhart...
sesquiterpenoid alcohol found in several plants, especially in the oil of guaiacum and cypress pine. It is a crystalline solid that melts at 92 °C. Guaiol...
Australia. Trymalium odoratissimum (karri hazel), native to Western Australia. Guaiacum angustifolium, native to North America. Ceanothus integerrimus (more commonly...
above the door. In his hands, the physician Rangone holds sarsaparilla and guaiacum, two plants which he used to treat syphilis and yellow fever. The reliefs...
gradibus et compositionibus receptorum naturalium, 1526. Vom Holtz Guaico (on guaiacum), 1529. Practica, gemacht auff Europen 1529. Von der Frantzösischen kranckheit...
a wealthy man receiving treatment for syphilis with the tropical wood guaiacum sometime around 1590. The "Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the...
spines. Some are cultivated as ornamental plants, such as species of the Guaiacum, Zygophyllum, Tribulus, and Larrea genera. King Clone, a creosote bush...
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