hard greenish-brown wood of the lignum vitae tree and other trees of the genus Guaiacum
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small genus of evergreen resinous trees or shrubs of warm and tropical America
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Guaiacum \Gua"ia*cum\, n. [NL., fr. Sp. guayaco, from native name in Haiti.] 1. (Bot.) A genus of small, crooked trees, growing in tropical America.
2. The heart wood or the resin of the {Guaiacum officinale} or lignum-vit[ae], a large tree of the West Indies and Central America. It is much used in medicine. [Written also {guaiac}.]
Lignum-vitae \Lig"num-vi"tae\ (l[i^]g"n[u^]m v[imac]"t[=e]), n. [L., wood of life; lignum wood + vita, genitive vit[ae], life.] (Bot.) A tree ({Guaiacum officinale}) found in the warm latitudes of America, from which the {guaiacum} of medicine is procured. Its wood is very hard and heavy, and is used for various mechanical purposes, as for the wheels of ships' blocks, cogs, bearings, and the like. See {Guaiacum}.
Note: In New Zealand the {Metrosideros buxifolia} is called lignum-vit[ae], and in Australia a species of {Acacia}. The bastard lignum-vit[ae] is a West Indian tree ({Sarcomphalus laurinus}).