small evergreen tree of Caribbean and southern Central America to northern South America; a source of lignum vitae wood, hardest of commercial timbers, and a medicinal resin

Guiacum officinale, recognized as the most dense wood in the world and prized for marine uses because of its high resin content making the wood highly resistant to marine decay.

This tree is sometimes referred to as the "tree of life" because of its many uses. The blue flower is the national flower of Jamaica.

A very hard, tough, close-grained wood of dark greenish-brown colour, imported from Jamaica; used for veneering, particularly in the 17th century, also for making pulleys, balls, pestles, etc.

Lignum vitae is the name of a tree that produces wood that is as dense as iron. In other words, lignum vitae wood is the hardest wood that exists. Bokkens can be made out of lignum vitae wood.-- Back.

The color of Lignum Vitae ( Guaiacum officinale ) is dark greenish brown, to almost black. The grain is irregular and very much interlocked but the texture is very fine. Lignum Vitae is one of the hardest and heaviest timbers available and itâ€(tm)s downright cruel to your chisels and planes. It does end up looking good as an infill however, and for obvious reasons, itâ€(tm)s great for small planes. Companies such as ECE Primus use Lignum Vitae for the soles of their planes.

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, and of course ironwood (one of many).