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Magnoliopsida
Guaiacum
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Guaiacum officinale, commonly known as Roughbark Lignum-vitae,[3] Guaiacwood or Gaïacwood, is a species of tree in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae, that is native to the Caribbean and the northern coast of South America.[2]
Description[edit]
This small tree is very slow growing, reaching about 10 m in height with a trunk diameter of 60 cm. The tree is essentially evergreen throughout most of its native range. The leaves are compound, 2.5 to 3 cm in length, and 2 cm wide. The blue flowers have five petals that yield a bright-yellow-orange fruit with red flesh and black seeds.
Symbolism[edit]
Guaiacum officinale is the national flower of Jamaica.[4]
Uses[edit]
G. officinale is one of two species yielding the true lignum vitae, 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.[5]
Conservation[edit]
Roughbark Lignum-vitae was listed as an endangered species by the IUCN in 1998. It has been overexploited for its valuable wood and medicinal products. International trade of this species is restricted because of its placement in CITES Appendix II.[1]
References[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Guaiacum officinale. |
Wikispecies has information related to: Guaiacum officinale |
- ^ a b Americas Regional Workshop (Conservation & Sustainable Management of Trees, Costa Rica, November 1996) (1998). "Guaiacum officinale". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.3. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 2010-10-03. Listed as Endangered (EN C2a v2.3)
- ^ a b "Guaiacum officinale L.". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2003-03-05. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ "Guaiacum sanctum". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ "National Symbols". Emancipation & Independence. Jamaica Information Service. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
- ^ Walker's Pediatric Gastrointestinal Disease, 5th edition, Chapter 46.2b. 'Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding'. p 1285.
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Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guaiacum_officinale&oldid=588251854 |
Conservation Actions
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/33701 |
Uses: Building materials/timber
Comments: This species' timber is traded internationally (British Standards Institute, 1991).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Guajacum+officinale |
Comments: Authors disagree on spelling of genus name; some spell "Guaiacum" (Little, 1978, and Elias, 1980). Kartesz (1994) spells "Guajacum", which follows rule in code of nomenclature: Linnaeus wrote "Guajacum" in his Species Plantarum, and "Guaiacum" in his Genera Plantarum; according to the code of nomenclature the name in the Species Plantarum supersedes.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Guajacum+officinale |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
Specimen Records:39
Specimens with Sequences:45
Specimens with Barcodes:16
Species:6
Species With Barcodes:6
Public Records:35
Public Species:6
Public BINs:0
Guaiacum (/ˈɡwaɪ.ə.kəm/[3][4]), sometimes spelled Guajacum, is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of slow-growing shrubs and trees, reaching a height of approximately 20 m (66 ft) but are usually less than half of that. All are native to subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas and are commonly known as lignum-vitae, guayacán (Spanish), or gaïac (French).[5] The genus name originated in Maipurean, the language spoken by the native Taínos of the Bahamas; it was adopted into English in 1533, the first word in that language of American origin.[6]
Members of the genus have a variety of uses, including as lumber, for medicinal purposes, and as ornamentals. The trade of all species of Guaiacum is controlled under CITES Appendix II.[7]
Guaiacum officinale is the national flower of Jamaica,[8] while Guaiacum sanctum is the national tree of The Bahamas.[9]
Uses[edit]
The genus is famous as the supplier of Lignum vitae, which is the heartwood of several species in the genus. It is the hardest wood that is measured using the Janka hardness test, requiring a force of 4,500 lbf (20,000 N) to embed a steel ball 0.444 in (1.13 cm) in diameter a distance half of that into the wood.[10]
The Spanish encountered guaiacum wood "when they conquered San Domingo; it was soon brought back to Europe, where it acquired an immense reputation in the sixteenth century as a cure for syphilis and certain other diseases. [11]
Gum from the wood was used to treat syphilis; for example, Benvenuto Cellini records this use of it in his memoirs. Thomas Nashe refers to its supposed medical properties in his tract Nashe's Lenten Stuff, as well as to the exotic sound of the word at the time (playing on the famously bizarre-sounding Latin word Honorificabilitudinitatibus, meaning "worthy of honour"): "Physicians deafen our ears with the Honorificabilitudinitatibus of their heavenly Panacaea, their sovereign Guiacum." Guaiacum 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.
The artist Jan van der Straet (also known as Johannes Stradanus) painted a scene of a wealthy man receiving treatment of syphilis with Guaiacum wood sometime around 1580.[12] The title of the work is "Preparation and Use of Guayaco for Treating Syphilis." Epidemic syphilis had been raging through Europe for nearly a century at the time of the painting, and hopes were high that this plant from the New World would provide a cure. The richly colored and detailed work depicts four servants preparing the concoction while a physician looks on, hiding something behind his back while the hapless patient drinks.[13]
The 1955 edition of the Textbook of Pharmacognosy also says that: "Guaiacum has a local stimulant action which is sometimes useful in sore throat. The resin is used in chronic gout and rheumatism, whilst the wood is an ingredient in the compound concentrated solution of sarsaparilla, which was formerly much used as an alternative in syphilis."[11]
A phenolic compound derived from the resin of Guaiacum trees is used in a common test for blood in human stool samples. The presence of heme in the blood causes the formation of a coloured product in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. The effect of peroxidases in horseradish on guiacum was first noted in 1810 by Planche.[14]
As a food additive Guaiacum has the E number of E314 and is classified as an antioxidant.
A widely used derivative drug is the expectorant known as guaifenesin.
The soap fragrance oil of guaiac comes from Bulnesia sarmientoi, a South American tree from the same family.
Members of the genus are grown in Florida and California as ornamental plants.
Species[edit]
- Guaiacum angustifolium Engelm. – Texas Lignum-vitae (Texas, Northeastern Mexico)
- Guaiacum coulteri A.Gray – Sonoran Lignum-vitae (Western Mexico, Guatemala)
- Guaiacum officinale L. – Common Ligum-vitae (The Caribbean, Northern South America)
- Guaiacum sanctum L. – Holywood Ligum-vitae (southern Florida, The Bahamas, Southern Mexico, Central America, Greater Antilles)
- Guaiacum unijugum Brandegee (Northwestern Mexico)[15][16][17]
Formerly placed here[edit]
- Porlieria microphylla (Baill.) Descole et al. (as G. microphyllum Baill.)
- Schotia afra (L.) Thunb. (as G. afrum L.)[16]
References[edit]
- ^ "Genus: Guaiacum L". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2008-05-20. Retrieved 2009-09-25.
- ^ "Guaiacum L". TROPICOS. Missouri Botanical Gardens. Retrieved 2009-12-06.
- ^ OED 2nd edition, 1989.
- ^ Entry "guaiacum" in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, retrieved 2013-04-30.
- ^ Grandtner, Miroslav M. (2005). Elsevier's Dictionary of Trees: With Names in Latin, English, French, Spanish and Other Languages 1. Elsevier. pp. 389–391. ISBN 978-0-444-51784-5.
- ^ Bailey, Richard W (2004). "Part I - American English: its origins and history". In Edward Finegan; John R. Rickford. Language in the USA: Themes for the Twenty-first Century. Cambridge University Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-521-77747-6.
- ^ Gordon, J. E.; González, M. A.; Vázquez Hernández, J.; Ortega Lavariega, R.; and Reyes-García, A. (2005). "Guaiacum coulteri an over-logged dry forest tree of Oaxaca, Mexico". Oryx (Fauna & Flora International) 39 (1): 82–85. doi:10.1017/s0030605305000141. Cite uses deprecated parameters (help)
- ^ "National Symbols". Emancipation & Independence. Jamaica Information Service. Retrieved 2009-12-06.
- ^ "National Symbols of the Bahamas". Bahamas Facts and Figures. TheBahamasGuide. Retrieved 2009-12-06.
- ^ Self, Charlie (2005). Woodworker's Pocket Reference: Everything a Woodworker Needs to Know at a Glance. Fox Chapel Publishing. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-1-56523-239-6.
- ^ a b Wallis, Thomas E (1955). Textbook of Pharmacognosy.
- ^ Johannes Stradanus undated brief review of works. Accessed August 6, 2007.
- ^ Jan van der Straet's "Preparation..." at commercial art site. Accessed August 6, 2007.
- ^ Azevedo AM, Martins VC, Prazers DM, et al. (2003). "Horseradish peroxidase: a valuable tool in biotechnology". Biotechnol Annu Rev. Biotechnology Annual Review 9: 199–247. doi:10.1016/S1387-2656(03)09003-3. ISBN 978-0-444-51400-4. ISSN 1387-2656.
- ^ "Guaiacum unijugum Brandegee". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2006-05-19. Retrieved 2009-12-06.
- ^ a b "GRIN Species Records of Guaiacum". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
- ^ "Subordinate Taxa of Guaiacum L". TROPICOS. Missouri Botanical Gardens. Retrieved 2009-12-06.
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Rights holder/Author | Wikipedia |
Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guaiacum&oldid=639438744 |
Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, Barbados, Virgin Islands and Colombia. Extinct or almost extinct in Antigua, Anguilla and Barbuda.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/33701 |
Habitat and Ecology
Systems
- Terrestrial
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/33701 |