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2. Profiles of Tree Species: The Americas 167
Guaiacum sanctum
Zygophyllaceae gaïac
femelle, guayacán, guayacán blanco, lignum vitae
Distribution Bahamas,
Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras,
Mexico (Quintana Roo), Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico,
USA (Florida) Habitat
A species of lowland dry forest and woodland. Population
Status and Trends Although large specimens are
almost completely absent from most of the species range, small bushy trees can
be found. Many of the Caribbean populations were decimated
in the 17th and 18th
centuries. Those populations that escaped exploitation in Florida
were threatened with habitat conversion for retirement homes (Ward, 1979). If
native to El Salvador it is now extinct (SSC/TPC, 1981).
The species is included in a list of threatened timber trees in Costa Rica (Jiménez
Madrigal, 1993). Ecology
Associated species are Astronium
graveolens, Tabebuia
ochracea and
Sideroxylon capiri
(Jiménez Madrigal, 1993). Role
of species in the Ecosystem Threats
Overexploitation. Utilisation
A less valuable source of lignum vitae than G.
officinale, but rarely distinguished by collectors.
The wood is extremely strong and heavy. As with G.
officinae it is used
for ship propeller shafts, pulleys, bearings, caster wheels and for turnery. It
was also originally exploited as a cure of syphilis
(CITES Proposal, 1992). It is also sold and planted as an ornamental tree or tub
plant. Trade G.
officinale and
G. sanctum have
both been
traded for
almost 500
years.
International trade
has continued
into the
1990s.
A significant
amount of illegal trade has continued since 1975, possibly between Mexico and
U.S.A. Trees were illegally cut in Florida (CITES Proposal,
1992). Limited trade data is available from the WCMC
CITES Trade
Database. Import of 5430
timber items of this species (no units of measurement
given) from Mexico were reported by Japan in 1991. In 1992, the USA reported importing
7358kg of timber of the species. Exports are reported
by Mexico for the years 1993, 1994 and 1995. The average quantity exported for
these years is 222m³, with exports to Canada, Germany,
Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and USA (Oldfield and Collins, 1997).
IUCN Conservation category
EN C2a according to the Americas Regional
Workshop for the WCMC/SSC Conservation
and sustainable
management of
trees project
(WCMC, 1996).
Conservation Measures The
species is listed on Appendix II of CITES. Forest
Management and Silviculture Regeneration is good
but growth is very slow (Americas Regional Workshop, 1996). It is planted much
less frequently than G.
officinale, and
mainly for
amenity (CITES
Proposal, 1982).
References Americas
Regional Workshop. 1996. Discussions held at CATIE, Costa Rica, November 1996
at the Second Regional Workshop of the WCMC/SSC
Conservation and
Sustainable Management
of Trees
project. (Unpublished). Brito, A. A. 1995. Letter to
Wendy Strahm including annotations to: List of threatened trees of Cuba. 1-5.
CITES Proposal. 1992. Proposal to include Guaiacum
officinale in Appendix II of CITES. d'Arcy,
W.G. 1987. Flora of Panama: checklist and index. Monographs
in Systematic
Botany 17: 1-1000. García,
R.D. & I. Olmsted. 1987. Listado florístico de la Reserva Sian Ka'an.
Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Mexico 71pp. Hartshorn,
G. et al.
1981. Natural Vegetation. pp. 13-21. In The Dominican Republic, country environmental
profile, a field study. Virgina: McLean. Jiménez
Madrigal, Quirico. 1993. Arboles maderables
en peligro
de extincion
en Costa
Rica. San José, Costa Rica: Museo
Nacional de Costa Rica. 121pp. Liogier,
A. H. . La Flora
de la
Española. 3 vols. Dominican Republic: Universidad
Central Del Este.Centénario de San Pedro de Macoris.
Oldfield, S. and Collins, L. 1997 Review
and improvement
of national
reporting for
trade in
plants listed
in the
Appendices of
CITES.
A report
prepared on
behalf of
the CITES
Secretariat.
WCMC, Cambridge.
SSC/TPC. 1981. Report on Guaiacum
officinale for the Third
Convention of the Parties, New Delhi, India. Vol. 1. Standley,
P.C., J.A. Steyermark, & L.O. Williams. 1946. Flora of Guatemala. Fieldiana
Bot. 24 Ward,
D.B. (ed.). 1979. Rare and endangered biota of Florida: 5. Plants. Gainesville:
University Presses of Florida. 175pp. WCMC. 1996. Report
of the Second Regional Workshop, held at CATIE, Turrialba, Costa Rica, 18-20 November
1996. Conservation and sustainable
management of trees project.
(unpublished).