UCONN UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT

Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Biodiversity Education & Research Greenhouses

  • Collections
  • Teaching
  • Research
  • Outreach
  • Visiting
  • Staff
  • IPM Info
  • Support the Greenhouse

Accession Data:

Guaiacum sanctum L.

  • Common Name: Lignum Vitae
  • Family: Zygophyllaceae R.Br.

  • Country of Origin: Florida, Mexico to northern South America, West Indies
  • Habitat: lowland dry forests

  • Description: Large shrub or tree, up to 30 feet tall (10 m); petiole or axis; also applied to how the lateral veins are arranged in relation to the main vein.">pinnate leaves, up to 4 inches long (10 cm) with 4 to 10 deep green, oblong to ovate), and broadly tapering to each end; wider than oblanceolate.">obovate, leathery leaflets, up to 1.5 inches long (4 cm)
  • Uses: Laxative, poison antidote, appetite, gonorrhea, boils, fever, syphilis, sudorific, gout, rheumatism, dentifrice, coughs, tuberculosis

    also produces an extremely hard wood

    Population estimates suggest less than 2500 mature specimens in the wild, and those remaining individuals still face a rapid decline. Decline is principally due to deforestation and exploitation for human uses.3

  • USDA Zone: 9b-12

Accession Data:

  • Accession # 200500052
  • Source: Judy Colley-Cant, Niagara Butterfly Cons
  • Accession Date: 06-16-2005
  • Bench: 1304 - NEOA: North Bench W
    • Currently: active - healthy
    • Qty: 2 confirmed on 05-19-2019
  • Restrictions:
    • CITES Appendix II Listed Plant

Classification:

  • Division: Magnoliophyta
  • Class: Magnoliopsida
  • SubClass: eurosid I
  • Order: Zygophyllales
  • SubOrder:
  • Family: Zygophyllaceae
  • SubFamily: Zygophylloideae
  • Tribe: Larreoideae
  • SubTribe:

References (internal):

  • Bee Pollination (melittophily)
  • IUCN Redlist Endangered Species
  • EEB Greenhouse Holdings native to: Florida / Mexico Southeast / Costa Rica / El Salvador / Guatemala / Honduras / Nicaragua / Bahamas / Dominican Republic / Haiti / Puerto Rico

References (external):

  1. Guaiacum sanctum at IUCN Redlist. Last accessed on Wednesday, August 15, 2018.
  2. Desert Tropicals website
  3. UBC Botany Photo of the Day - January 21, 2010
  4. The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Last accessed on Wednesday, August 15, 2018.
  5. Guaiacum sanctum at WikiSpecies. Last accessed on Wednesday, August 15, 2018.
  6. Guaiacum sanctum at ARS-GRIN. Last accessed on Wednesday, August 15, 2018.
  7. Image #00 (cropped) & #01 (original) by Derek R. Artz [CC BY 3.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons. Last accessed on Wednesday, August 15, 2018.

data regenerated on Wed, 22 May 2019 10:15:04 -0400 [bcm v4.0]

Images:

Guaiacum sanctum

Additional images for this accession:

Click on thumbnails to enlarge

Current Accessions in the Zygophyllaceae

Subfamily Tribuloideae

  • Balanites maughamii

Subfamily Zygophylloideae

  • Roepera morgsana W/C

Subfamily Zygophylloideae
Tribe Larreoideae

  • Guaiacum sanctum
W/C = Wild Collected
= indicates flowering in past 14 days
= images available for this accession
= map available for this accession
= accession added within past 90 days
  • © University of Connecticut
  • Disclaimers, Privacy & Copyright