''Guaiacum officinale'', commonly known as roughbark lignum-vitae, guaiacwood or gaïacwood, is a species of tree in the

caltrop A caltrop (also known as caltrap, galtrop, cheval trap, galthrap, galtrap, calthrop, jackrock or crow's foot''Battle of Alesia'' (Caesar's conquest of Gaul in 52 BC), Battlefield Detectives program, (2006), rebroadcast: 2008-09-08 on History Cha ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Zygophyllaceae Zygophyllaceae is a family of flowering plants that contains the bean-caper and caltrop. The family includes around 285 species in 22 genera. Plants in the family Zygophyllaceae may be trees, shrubs, or herbs. They are often found in dry habit ...

, that is native to the Caribbean and the northern coast of South America.

Description

This small tree is very slow growing, reaching about in height with a trunk diameter of . The tree is essentially evergreen throughout most of its native range. The leaves are compound, in length, and wide. The blue flowers have five petals that yield a bright-yellow-orange fruit with red flesh and black seeds.

Symbolism

''Guaiacum officinale'' is the national flower of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

Uses

''Guaiacum officinale'' is one of two species yielding the true

lignum vitae Lignum vitae () is a 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 the Caribbean and the northern coast of South America (e.g: Col ...

, the other being '' Guaiacum sanctum''. Guaiac, a natural resin extracted from the wood, is a colorless compound that turns blue when placed in contact with substances that have peroxidase activity and then are exposed to hydrogen peroxide. Guaiac cards are impregnated with the resin and are used in determining whether stool contains blood. The heme portion of hemoglobin contains peroxidase and will catalyze the oxidation of guaiaconic acid when hydrogen peroxide is placed on the Guaiac card if blood is present in the stool.

Conservation

Roughbark lignum-vitae was listed as an endangered species by the IUCN in 2019. It has been overexploited for its valuable wood and medicinal products. International trade of this species is restricted because of its placement in

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

Appendix II.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2051175 officinale Flora of South America National symbols of Jamaica Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus