EXOGENOUS SERIES BROADLEAF WOODS. 113 



Lignumvitae. Guajacwn sanctum. 



Nomenclature. (Sudworth.) 



Lignumvitae (Fla.). Ironwood (Fla.). 



Locality. 



Semitropical Florida, Bahamas, San Domingo, Cuba, Puerto 

 Rico. 



Features of Tree. 



Twenty-five feet high, one foot in diameter, a low gnarled tree. 

 Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood. 



Heartwood rich yellow-brown in younger specimens and almost 

 black in older onis. Sapwood light yellow. Close-grained, 

 compact structure. 



Structural Qualities of Wood. 



Very heavy and exceedingly hard, strong, hard to work, brittle. 



Lubricated by water, very durable. 

 Representative Uses of Wood. 



Sheaves of ship-blocks, rollers, pulleys, tool-handles. Bearings 

 for journals rotating in water. 



Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot. 



.7i 

 Modulus of Elasticity. 



1,220,000. 

 Modulus of Rupture. 



11,100. 

 Remarks. 



Two other species, Guajacum officinale and Guajacum arborium, 



afford similar woods not commercially distinguished from the 



' above. Ties of a kind of Lignumvitse, so hard that holes had 



to be bored for spikes, have resisted thirty years exposure in 



moist, hot climate of the Isthmus of Panama. 



Sissoo and Sabicu have attracted attention, but have given way to other timbers 

 more plentiful, better located and as good. 



Sabicu (Lysiloma sabicu). This West Indian wood is very heavy, hard, strong 

 and plastic. It seasons and works well, is very durable and is good for keels 

 frames and the like. The beautiful, dark brown color with figured satiny grain, 

 together with the finishing qualities of this wood, have caused it to be used in 

 furniture. It may be mistaken for rosewood. 



Sissoo (Dalbergia sissoo} is a medium sized tree, native in Northern India and 

 acclimated in California. The very hard, heavy, strong, elastic wood seasons well, 

 lasts well, and is used in wheels, carriage frames, implements and furniture. It 

 was once prized for gun carriages. The brownish tint suggests rosewood and 

 much rosewood comes from a related species. (See page 122.) Sissoo is now 

 scarce. 



