Lignum vitae is a trade
wood, also called
guayacan or
guaiacum, and in parts of Europe known as
pockholz, from trees of the genus
Guaiacum. The trees are indigenous to the Caribbean and the northern coast of South America and have been an important export crop to Europe since the beginning of the 16th century. The wood was once very important for applications requiring a material with its extraordinary combination of
strength,
toughness, and
density. It is also the national tree of the Bahamas and the Jamaican national flower.