Lignum vitae is the heartwood of species of the genus Guaiacum, the trees of which are usually called guayacan. The name is Latin for "wood of life", and derives from its medicinal uses. Other names are palo santo, holy wood, greenheart, and of course ironwood (one of many). The wood is obtained chiefly from Guaiacum officinale and Guaiacum sanctum, both slow growing trees that do not become large. A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood is a material found as the primary content of the stems of woody plants, especially trees, but also shrubs. ... Species Six species, including: Guaiacum officinale Guaiacum sanctum Guaiacum is a small genus of six species of shrubs and trees in the family Zygophyllaceae, native to subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas. ... This article needs cleanup. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... Palo Santo is Shearwaters fourth full-length album, released May 9, 2006 on Misra Records. ... Nectandra rodiœi, greenheart, or beeberu, is a valuable timber tree which grows in northern South America, chiefly in British Guyana (Guyana). ... Ironwood may refer to the following: Any particular wood that has a reputation for hardness. ... Guaiacum officinale is one of the species yielding the true lignum vitae, a wood once used to treat syphilis. ...

This wood has a density between 1.28 and 1.37g per cu.cm., so it will sink in water. It is a hard, dense and durable wood, one of the densest woods in the trade. The wood was important for uses requiring strength, weight and hardness. Due to its weight, cricket bails, particularly 'heavy bails' used in windy conditions, are sometimes made of this wood. The wood also has seen widespread historical usage in mortars and pestles and for wood carvers' mallets. The heartwood is green in color leading to the common name Greenheart. In the shipbuilding, cabinetry, and woodturning crafts the term greenheart refers to the green heartwood of the Chlorocardium genus trees. For other uses, see Density (disambiguation). ... Impact from a water drop causes an upward rebound jet surrounded by circular capillary waves. ... For other uses, see Wood (disambiguation). ... Strength of materials is materials science applied to the study of engineering materials and their mechanical behavior in general (such as stress, deformation, strain and stress-strain relations). ... Look up hardness in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In the sport of cricket, a bail is one of the two smaller sticks placed on top of the three stumps to form a wicket. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Binomial name Chlorocardium rodiei (M.R.Schomb. ...

Master clockmaker John Harrison used lignum vitae as the basis for his nearly all-wood clocks, since the wood provides natural lubricating oils which do not dry out. For this reason it was widely used in shaft bearings. According to the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association website, the shaft bearings on the WWII submarine USS Pampanito (SS-383) were made of this wood. (Source:http://www.maritime.org/pamphist.htm) Also, the bearings in the original 1920's turbines of the Conowingo Hydroelectric Plant on the lower Susquehanna River are made from lignum vitae. John Harrison John Harrison (March 24, 1693–March 24, 1776) was an English clockmaker, who designed and built the worlds first successful chronometer (maritime clock), one whose accuracy was great enough to allow the determination of longitude over long distances. ... For other uses, see Clock (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with cooking oil. ... USS Pampanito (SS-383), a Balao-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the gafftopsail pompano, Trachinotus rhodopus. ... The Susquehanna River (originally Sasquesahanough per the 1612 John Smith map) is a river located in the northeastern United States. ...

Lignum Vitae is also sometimes used to make lawn bowls. Men playing bowls Bowls (or Lawn Bowls) is a precision sport where the goal is to roll slightly radially asymmetrical balls (called bowls) closer to a smaller white ball (the jack) than ones opponent is able to do. ...

Due to its density (and strength), combined with the relative softness of wood compared to metal, thereby tending to bruise or stun rather than simply cut the skin, lignum vitae was the traditional wood used for British police truncheons up until very recent times.

The resin has been used to treat a variety of medicinal conditions from coughs to arthritis. Wood chips can also be used to brew a tea. Arthritis (from Greek arthro-, joint + -itis, inflammation; plural: arthritides) is a group of conditions where there is damage caused to the joints of the body. ... For other uses, see Tea (disambiguation). ...

Various other hardwoods of Australasia (e.g., the acacia and eucalyptus) are also called lignum vitae and should not be confused. Australasia Australasia is a term variably used to describe a region of Oceania: Australia, New Zealand, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. ... For other uses, see Acacia (disambiguation). ... This article is about the plant genus. ...

Verawood (Bulnesia sarmientoi/arborea) is an unrelated species also known as Argentine lignum vitae due to similar appearance and working qualities to lignum vitae. It has a strong, fresh aroma and is used as incense. Binomial name Lorentz ex Griseb. ... Binomial name Bulnesia sarmientoi Lorentz ex Griseb. ... Incense is composed of aromatic organic materials. ...

The Lignum Vitae is the national flower of Jamaica and the national tree of The Bahamas.

On the Janka Scale of Hardness, which measures the relative density of various types of wood, lignum vitae ranks highest. Lignum Vitae has a Janka hardness of 4500 (compared with Hickory at 1820, red oak at 1290, and Yellow Pine at 690). Species See text Comparison of Carya nuts Ripe hickory nuts ready to fall, Andrews, SC Hickory is a tree of the genus Carya, including 17-19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and large nuts. ... Binomial name Quercus rubra L. The Northern Red Oak or Champion Oak, Quercus rubra (syn. ...

Lignum Vitae is listed in appendix II of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) as a potentially endangered species. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement between Governments, drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). ... The Siberian Tiger is a subspecies of tiger that are critically endangered. ...

Lore

Pioneering calypsonian/vaudevillian Sam Manning recorded a song entitled "Lignum Vitae" in the 1920s. His reference was doubly salacious, referring to both the bark tea's contraceptive qualities and the phallic symbolism of the hard wood. The liner notes of Boogu Yagga Gal alert mento fans to the early Caribbean-Jazz recordings of two Trinidadians, Sam Manning and Lionel Belasco. ...

According to T.H. White's Version of the Artus Saga "The Once and Future King", Lignum vitae, from which the staff of Merlin is made, has magical powers.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez's acclaimed novel Love In The Time Of Cholera includes a bathtub made of this wood in one of the main characters' homes.

The belaying pins aboard the USS Constitution are made from Lignum vitae. Due to its density and natural oils, they rarely require replacement, despite the severity of typical marine weathering conditions. “ Old Ironsides ” redirects here. ...