Latin for “wood of life,” lignum vitae is a heartwood obtained chiefly from small, slow-growing trees of the genus Guaiacum found in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the Americas. Its name derives from its perceived medicinal uses in the treatment of colds, syphillus, arthritis and gout. In an engraving by Johannes Stradanus circa 1580 entitled “Preparation and Use of Guayaco for Treating Syphilis,” a man can be seen on the bottom right cutting a section of the tree (figure 1). Lignum vitae can also be referred to as palo santo (holy wood) and greenheart, and is considered an ironwood, prized for its strength and density. The wood of the tree is also rich with fats and resin, making it nearly waterproof and ideal for use in the applied arts as it is self-lubricating. Interestingly, magical qualities are attributed to the wood and the wizard Merlin’s staff is said to have been of lignum vitae.

Figure 1

A pair of tables in the Carlton Hobbs collection have tops and friezes which are formed of a dramatic pattern of numerous green and brown lignum specimens, cut radially across the branch to expose the delightful pattern of the annular rings (figure 2). “One of the most decorative devices adopted, which became very general among English cabinet-makers, was to cut saplings transversely, that is, in thin slices across the trunk, and to veneer with these ‘oyster-pieces’…” named as such for their ovoid shapes and dark centers. “Of these oyster-pieces, the sections of walnut, laburnum or lignum-vitae were the most frequently used…”¹ It seems likely that the tables were formed around a preexisting top that appears to be 18th century in date. This would place the tables within the predominantly English tradition of incorporating earlier prized elements into contemporary pieces of furniture.

Figure 2

Another example of oyster veneer can been seen on a cabinet on stand in the Victoria and Albert collection, circa 1690 (depicted in Herbert Cescinsky’s Early English Furniture & Woodwork, 1922; Figure 362) (figure 3). In this case the pattern is made up of inlaid sections of laburnum wood shaped rather like hearts.

Apart from its beautiful appearance, lending it to decorative application in furniture-making, lignum vitae, being three times harder than oak on the Janka scale of hardness, has also been used for bowling balls, mallets, ship stern bearings, golf club heads, wooden clogs and water wheels. As its name suggests, this robust and versatile material is truly a ‘vital wood.’²

Figure 3

<sub>Footnotes:
1. Cescinsky, Herbert, and Ernest R. Gribble. Early English Furniture & Woodwork. London: G. Routledge and Sons, 1922.
2. Journal of the Franklin Institute, Volume 188; Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pa., 1919. 244.</sub>