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Holywood lignum-vitae is a handsome large shrub or small tree with shiny evergreen leaves, fissured light gray bark, and the bluest flowers you will ever see on a tree. The tree can get up to 30 ft (9.1 m) tall, but usually is around 15 ft (4.6 m) tall. The 4 in (10.2 cm) leaves are pinnately compound, and borne in opposing pairs originating from swollen nodes along the slender, crooked, somewhat drooping branches. Each leaf has 2-5 pairs of 1.5 in (3.8 cm) oblong leaflets, and each leaflet has a tiny apical tooth. An unusual characteristic of lignum-vitae is that the pairs of leaves are held in the same plane; most plants with opposite leaves hold them at right angles to each other. Flowers are produced at the tips of shoots singly or in few-flowered clusters during March and April. The flowers are almost 1 in (2.5 cm) across and the petals are true blue (a real rarity). The fruit is a brown 5-lobed capsule that splits open when ripe in September or October to expose black seeds that are enclosed in a fleshy red pulp.
Location
Culture
Use lignum-vitae in tropical seaside settings. It is resistant to salt spray and tolerant of drought, so would be a good choice for dry, sandy soils near the coast. Lignum-vitae makes a handsome specimen or, used in groups, an effective hedge. It grows very slowly, so don't use lignum-vitae if you want a quick screen! Lignum-vitae also is grown in containers, where it will stay small for many years.
Features Lignum-vitae has the hardest wood of any commercially harvested tree. The wood is yellowish or greenish brown and has a resin content of about 30% by weight. Lignum-vitae wood is exceedingly heavy (it will not float), close grained and split resistant, and is valued for propeller shaft bushings, machine parts, and other applications in which its natural resins make it self lubricating. Lignum-vitae also is the source of gum guaiacum, a resin once used in the treatment of syphilis and arthritis. The common name refers to its supposed holy and life giving properties. There are about 250 species in the family, many of which are typical of deserts, such as the creosote bush (Larrea divaricata). Steve Christman 5/8/00; updated 5/15/04, 8/18/06
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