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Guaiacum sanctum
Also called Holywood Lignum Vitae, Roughbark Lignum Vitae, Guaiacum, Lignum Vitae, Roughbark Lignumvitae
Holywood (Guaiacum sanctum) is a slow-growing, small tropical tree native to Mexico, Central America, Florida and the Caribbean, prized for its extremely dense wood. It is grown as an ornamental in warm, frost-free areas and needs a sunny spot and well-drained soil.
Guaiacum sanctum, commonly known as holywood, lignum vitae or holywood lignum-vitae, is a species of flowering plant in the creosote bush family, Zygophyllaceae. It is native to the Neotropical realm, from Mexico through Central America, Florida in the United States, the Caribbean, and northern South America. It has been introduced to other tropical areas of the world. It is currently threatened by habitat loss in its native region, and as such, is currently rated near threatened on the IUCN Red List.
Guaiacum sanctum is the national tree of the Bahamas.
This tree is one of two species that yield the valuable lignum vitae wood, the other being Guaiacum officinale.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Guaiacum sanctum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
