Download Pharmacohnors. Alammbgh and more Study notes Pharmacy in PDF only on Docsity!
Yale University
EliScholar – A Digital Platform for Scholarly Publishing at Yale
Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
Bulletin Series
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
Lignum-Vitae: A Study of the Woods of the
Zygophyllaceae with Reference to the True
Lignum-Vitae of Commerce--Its Sources,
Properties, Uses, and Substitutes
Samuel J. Record
Follow this and additional works at: https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/yale_fes_bulletin
Part of the Forest Biology Commons, and the Wood Science and Pulp, Paper Technology
Commons
This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at EliScholar – A Digital Platform for Scholarly Publishing at Yale. It has been accepted for inclusion in Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Bulletin Series by an authorized administrator of EliScholar – A Digital Platform for Scholarly Publishing at Yale. For more information, please contact elischolar@yale.edu.
Recommended Citation
Record, Samuel J. 1921. Lignum-vitae: A Study of the Woods of the Zygophyllaceae with Reference to the True Lignum-vitae of Commerce--Its Sources, Properties, Uses, and Substitutes. Yale School of Forestry Bulletin 6. 48 pp. + plates
LIGNUM-VITAE
flowers that are tetramerous instead of pentamerous as they are in the other two. These trees are found commonly in very dry regions and are accordingly of very slow growth, short-baled and bushy. The trunks, however, are often very stout with little taper. Some of the species of each genus are typically shrubs and others tend to become so in the most unfavorable sites. In the better situations, however, the trees grow more rapidly and are taller, straighter, and smoother, though such timber is not necessarily better and may, indeed, be of poorer quality on that account.
The woods of Guaiacum) Porlieria) and Bulnesia have many properties in
common. They are cross-grained, extremely hard and horn-like, and are considerably heavier than water even when thoroughly dry;3 the heart portion is infiltrated with a fragrantly scented gum-resin which gives the wood an oily appearance and feel. Growth rings are often distinct, largely on account of color variations, though affected more or less by the relative abundance of pores and by the distribution of^ wood parenchyma.^ The^ woods^ are^ diffuse-porous^ and^ the pores, which vary in size from minute and indistinct to readily visible in some cases, are open in the sapwood but commonly filled with resin in the heart. They are often associated with or surrounded by parenchyma which may extend into fine tangential or irregularly spaced concentric lines. The rays are uniform and numerous but are too fine to be seen without a lens. On the longitudinal surface, typically the tangential, very fine and regularly-disposed cross-lines or "Tipple marks" are visible with the lens but not without it. These lines are at right angles to the axis of the tree and are not affected in direction or regularity by the criss-crossing of the fiber-layers. The number of these markings per inch of length averages about 250, which is so nluch greater than in any other wood that this feature alone is sufficient to establish the identity of the group (3 6, p.
- .4. These ripple marks are also characteristic of the inner bark (sec-
3 The maximum density determined by the writer was 1.32 (about 82}/z lbs. per cubic foot) for Nicaraguan lignum-vitae. Krais ('IDie Holzer") gives the range for dry wood of Guaiacum as 1.17 to 1.39, or from 73 to nearly 87 pounds per cubic foot. Other reliable figures of density are 1.248 (Laslett) and 1.33 (Beauverie). Stone (46) gives 89 pounds per cubic foot for Guaiacum sanctum and cites Sargent (40) as authority. This is an error, as the values given by Sargent are 0.9563 to 1.2736, average 1.1432. Boulger (5) uses the same figure as Stone.
- In a specimen (Yale No. 974) of the shrub Larrea divaricata Cav. (Zygophyl .. laceae) from Argentina the number of ripple marks is about 270 per inch. In this wood
LIGNUM-VITAE
According to the same authority, the sapwood is yellowish-white, the heartwood dark-yellowish with veins of deeper color. The specific gravity is given as 0.917. The moduli of elasticity in bending, in kilograms per square nlillimeter, are: maximum 1,053; mean, 897; minimum, 780. The coefficients of resistance to rupture in bending, in kilograms per square millimeter, are: maximum, 12.25; mean, 7.50; minimum, 4.50. The wood is "hard as iron" and is used to a limited extent for cross-ties, carpentry, posts, canes, tool handles, and also in the construction of furni- ture of "great durability and beautiful appearance." The twigs and leaves have a place in medicine and the boughs are used by the mountaineers for thatching their huts. The charcoal from retamo wood is of a very high quality. Spegazzini (44, p. 397) states that the wood makes excellent fuel and occasionally supplies material for turnery.
"Palo Santo" or "Palo Balsamo"
This wood is supplied by Bulnesia Sarmienti Lorentz which is "indigenous to the ·Argentine province of Gran Chaco about halfway up the Rio Ber- jemo" (17, p. 453); Castro (8, p. 56) says it grows in Chaco, Salta, Tu~a man, Jujuy, and Corrientes; it also occurs in Paraguay. It attains a height of 50 or 60 feet and a diameter of 40 inches (44, p. 376), has a straight bole with a very thin smooth gray bark, and in the interior of the Chaco generally rises above all of the other trees in the forest (49, p. 105). It is a tree of the dry regions and is for the most part in groups or patches yielding at most only a few hundred board feet per acre. Although the wood is well known to certain loc:.il minor industries making small cabinets and turnery, it is not obtainable in any considerable amount. The sapwood is narrow and light-colored; the heartwood is usually deep- brown, often more or less greenish, and sometimes with alternate lighter and darker bands. The pores are small, thick-walled, numerous, and ar- ranged in radial lines or groups, sometimes spreading or branching out- ward as in the late wood of white oak. The specific gravity, as determined by the writer on two specimens, oven- dry, is as follows: All-heart specitnen, 1.21; specimen with one-fifth sap- wood, 1.18. According to Castro (8, p. 56) the sp. gr. is from 1.216 to 1.303. The moduli of elasticity in bending, in kilograms per square millimeter, are: maximum, 988 ; mean, 872 ; plinimum, 827. The coefficient of resistance to rupture in bending, in kilograms per square millimeter, are: maximum, 14.07; mean, 10.81; minimum, 8.91.
LIGNUM- VITAE
The heartwood is thoroughly impregnated with resin of the nature of guaiac and contains in addition a small amount of essential oil which is fragrantly scented, somewhat suggesting sandalwood. This odor is quite pronounced upon heating and the wood is in local demand for incense in churches; hence the name "palo santo"7 (holy wood). It is used by the Indians in northern Argentina for firewood, torches, and the making of utensils for various purposes. The name "palo balsamo" is a commercial term which has been in use since 1892, and refers to the oil content of the wood. By distillation the heartwood yields 5 or 6 per cent of this oil which is known to the trade as "oil of guaiac wood," "oleum ligni guaiaci," "Guajakholzol," or "essence de bois gaiac." For many years the manufacture of this oil was confined to Germany and France, but during the war 2,000 pounds were distilled in New York. Since the sale is limited, this represents at least a five years' supply. The wood is obtained in the form of logs, reduced to sawdust and fine chips, and dis- tilled. Efforts to obtain the oil from the wood of Guaiacum were without success. Apparently no effort has been made to distill it from Bulnesia arborea. Oil of guaiac wood is a viscous, heavy oil, yellowish in color, which at ordinary temperature gradually solidifies to a crystalline mass. The crystals are needle-shaped, sharply outlined, and characterized by a channel-like middle line. The solidified oil is white and of about the consistency of cold lard. The melting point is between 40° and 50°C. The odor of the speci- mens examined by the writer is mHd, slightly pungent, and vaguely sug- gesting rose. The following description of the properties and composition of the oil of guaiac wood is from Gildemeister and Hoffman (17, pp. 453-4). "The odor of the oi'l is very pleasant, being violet- and tea-like. The specific gravity lies between 0.965 and 0.975 at 30° ; the angle of rotation is _6°
to -7 0 at 3 0 0. The oil is soluble in 70 per cent alcohol. The saponification
number found of an oil was 3.9, the ester number 2.4, and the acid number 1.4·
'J In Patagonia the name "palo santo" is given to Flotowiadiacanthoides Less. (38, p. 19 2 ). 8 The name "champaca oil" was later given to this same oil although it has not the slightest resemblance to the genuine champaca oil from lJ,fichelia champaca L. (Be- richt von Schimmel & Co., Apr. 1893, p. 33)· (17, p. 453·)
LIGNUM-VITAE
fine longitudinal wrinkling, crossed at right angles with numerous fine
white lines.
. Mr. H. M. Curran supplies the following information regarding this tree
in Venezuela: "Vera is a common tree of the dry foothills lying between
Porto Cabello and the Lake Maracaibo. It does not extend into the ex-
tremely dry coastal hills and sand. dune areas, but where a little more
moisture and better soils are found it is often a very prominent feature in
the vegetation. Perhaps four or five trees per acre may be found over con-
siderable areas though the stand would probably be less than 1,000 board
feet per acre. The tree as commonly met with is from 40 to 50 feet in height,
slender, with a rather small branched crown and is fairly straight, though
many individuals are twisted. The tree seldom makes a clear length of more
than IS or 20 feet. The flowers are bright yellow, and the tree is quite orna-
mental when in bloom. The fruits following the fall of the flowers are rather
membranaceous winged pods. The wood is hard, very durable, and is
commonly used for fence posts, telegraph poles, and durable construction
in general."
The wood of vera has many technical properties in common with the true
lignum-vitae (Guaiacum). In the specimens examined by the writer the
heartwood is more or less striped and banded, and varying in color from
light olive-green to chocolate-brown. The surface of fresh wood often turns
dark green upon exposure to the air and sun. The sapwood is mostly thin
and is light yellow except near the heart where the vessels become green
upon oxidation of their contents, thus giving a finely striped effect.
Generally the color is lighter than in Guaiacum. One finds the same ar-
rangement of pores as in Bulnesia Sarmienti except that the radial lines are
usually narrower and not so inclined to branch. The specific gravity of the
heartwood, as determined by the writer on oven-dry material, varies from
1.1 I to 1.21. J. Martinex Espino (see I, p. 178) gives 1.14 as the average
density. The heartwood is impregnated with the mildly scented resin typical
of the woods of^ this family.
The heartwood is very durable under exposure and will last indefinitely
in the ground. Mr. H. M. Curran found among the ruins of an old Spanish
fort on the tip of Araya Peninsula, Venezuela, a pole which was in perfect
preservation after some 300 years. A specimen of this wood was examined
by the writer and identified as the heartwood of Bulnesia arborea. (For
features distinguishing the woods of Bulnesia and Guaiacum see page 19.)
LIGNUM-VITAE
determined by Sharples (see 39, pp. 268-9), varies from 0.9563 to 1.2736,
average 1.1432. The variations are in part due to the presence of more or
less sapwood in some of the specimens. The specific gravity, oven-dry, of a
specimen from Florida was found by the writer to be 1.09 for the sapwood
portion and 1.19 for the heartwood. The sapwoodof Guaiacum sanctum is
usually thicker than in G. ofjicinale.
In longitudinal compression, the ultimate strength in kilos of two speci-
mens of Florida wood was found by Sharples (see 39, p. 420) to be
11,930 and 11,648, respectively. These values were somewhat in excess of
those for the best specimens of hickory but were materially exceeded by,
some pieces of Osage orange, black locust, and some less common woods. In
resistance to indentation the wood of Guaiacum sanctum is given first rank
(see 39, p. 253) among 405 woods tested, and is far above any of the
common woods of the United States.
Guaiacum ofjicinale is a low or medium-sized evergreen tree with a thick
bole often 10 to 12, occasionally 18 to 20, inches in diameter. Its branches
are crowded and flexuose and the pinnate leaves are leathery. The fruits
are two-cornered and yellowish, bearing seeds light to dark-brown with a
cream-colored exocarp. Its range includes all of the West Indies and the
northern coast of South America, especially Venezuela and Colombia.
Schomburgk (42, pp. 850, 1,012) says it is cultivated in gardens along the
coastal region of British Guiana and also grows in the forests along the
Essequibo, where it reaches tree size. No other reference to its occurrence
in British Guiana has been found. According to Vail and Rydberg (48,
p. 106) the species grows naturally in Panama, and Harshberger (21, p.
664) mentions it as occurring in Honduras.
Oviedo (see 14, p. 101), who landed in America in 1514, mentions this
tree, under the name of Uguayacan," as a native. {This should dispose of
the claim of a Brazilian botanist (7, p. 81) that Guaiacum ofjicinale L.
was introduced into San Domingo from the Matto Grosso by the Spaniards
in 1508, and thereafter considered native there). Oviedo appears to have
been aware of two species, one of which he found in Espanola (San Do-
mingo) as well as Nagranda (Nicaragua), and the other in the island of
Sanct Johan (Porto Rico), whence it was called "lignum sanctum." This
name is still in use, paricularly for the wood of Guaiacum sanctum.
Four Mexican or Central American species of Guaiacum are described
by Vail and Rydberg (48, pp. 106-7), but very little is available regarding
their commercial importance and range. G. guatemalense Planch. is said
LIGNUM-VITAE
to be a small tree about 15 feet high with stems clothed with somewhat '
corky bark. The flowers, which are azure blue, appear before the new leaves; the fruit is reddish or orange, the seeds reddish-brown. The type was collected on the hot plains of Zacapa, Guatemala, and nothing further is known of its range.
Guaiacum Planchoni A. Gray is said to be a much branched shrub, 6 to 10
feet high, with grayish corky bark, leaves crowded or fascicled on short modified branchlets; flowers solitary. The type was collected between Tehuantepec and the Pacific Ocean, Oaxaca.
Guaiacum Palmeri Vail is, according to the same authorities, a shrub or
possibly a small tree, with leaves fascicled as in the preceding. The fruit is yellowish-green, leathery, with seeds covered with a dark-red (?) fleshy exocarp. The type was collected at Guaymas, Sonora.
Guaiacum Coulteri A. Gray produces wood of value, though to what
extent is undetermined. This tree is known to occur all along the western part of Mexico from Sonora to Oaxaca and it is possible that the commercial lignum-vitae of^ Nicaragua^ and^ the^ east coast^ of^ Mexico is supplied by this species. According to the botanists the tree is small, often reduced to a shrub, with clustered blue flowers and with greenish fruit containing brown seeds covered with a pale yellowish aril.
Hemsley (22, p. 159) suggests the possibility of this and G. guatemalense
Planch. being the same species, but the material at his disposal was in- sufficient to decide the question. In 1913, Dr. H. N. Whitford made an examination of the forest on Maria Magdalena Island, the middle one of the Tres Marias group off the coast of Tepic, Mexico. He found a tree called "guayacan" which was
afterward identified as Guaiacum Coulteri. In a manuscript report he says:
"This species is probably the lignum-vitae of commerce. It occurs growing very scattered with the 'palo prieto' and on the fiats near the mouths of the arroyos. The trees are mostly small, between 8 and 12 inches in diameter, yielding logs from 6 to 10 feet in length. One tree was 24 inches in diameter yielding a log only two feet long. It had three branches 8 inches in diameter and 6 feet long that would make good logs. The forests on the main coast are said to produce trees much larger than those oil the island. Guayacan is very hard, very durable and very heavy. It is dark greenish-brown in color with concentric rings of nearly black. It is very fine-grained. "
I-l 00
Cross section of Guaiacum from Haiti
Note irregular distribution of the pores
Cross section of Bulnesia arborea (Maracaibo)
Note the radial distribution of the porea
t'"" ~ ~
Z
~ ~I
<H
l- :>tJ:j
