Guaiacum sanctum L. is an evergreen tree in Zygophyllaceae and is accepted by Kew as a current species name. Its native range extends from southern Mexico through Central America, Florida, and the Caribbean islands. Kew places it in the tropical wet biome, while a Mexican forestry account also records dry forest and chaparral. These sources show that the species occurs across several regional habitat types; they should not be reduced to one universal climate formula.

The tree has a rounded crown and is often multi-trunked. Its leaves are opposite or nearly opposite, even-pinnate, and usually carry about three to five pairs of small oval leaflets. Clusters of bluish-purple flowers stand out against dark green foliage; yellow-orange capsules can open to reveal dark seeds with red arils. The heartwood is very dense and heavy, olive-brown to dark brown; stem resin is a separate material. The page images are AI study illustrations based on these descriptions and cannot authenticate a plant or materia-medica lot.

Historical guaiacum records describe Caribbean Indigenous use of wood or resin, followed by the material’s introduction to Europe in the early sixteenth century, where it was promoted as a remedy for syphilis. An older CITES document describes centuries of international demand for heartwood and extracts and records other folk uses. This is a history of trade and reported use, not proof of treatment. Guaiacum is no longer considered a remedy for syphilis; do not self-use wood, resin, powder, or products labeled guaiac to treat disease.

The materia-medica name guaiacum does not always identify one species. Kew MPNS links the drug name “guaiac resin” to both G. sanctum and G. officinale, and a Canadian monograph identifies stem resin from either species as a source material for its regulated substance record. A label such as “guaiac,” “lignum vitae,” or “resin” therefore does not establish species, plant part, legal provenance, or product specification. This page assigns no Chinese-medicine taste, channels, actions, or classical formula because the sources reviewed do not provide a standardized Chinese materia-medica monograph specific to G. sanctum.

The project’s CITES Trade Database 2026.1 extract contains seven comparative-tabulation rows under the exact name Guaiacum sanctum, filtered to purpose T (commercial) and term MED (medicine), in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024. The records report source code W. This supports the presence of the species name in international trade reporting under that query; it is not necessarily seven distinct shipments, a measure of total market volume, proof of end use, or confirmation that each transaction was lawful. A separate older CITES report says most Guaiacum trade at that time was timber, so the current MED term should remain distinct from other wood commodities.

Canada’s database records guaiac resin as a non-medicinal substance used as an antioxidant/preservative; the JECFA monograph defines resin from Guajacum officinale or G. sanctum wood and gives food-additive specifications. An acceptable daily intake in a food-additive assessment is not a medicinal dose and does not apply to raw resin or untested products. Available sources do not establish that wood, resin, tea, or home extracts treat disease. Historical use, trade records, botanical identification, and food-additive assessments are different evidence types and cannot replace clinical trials.

Guaiac resin is regulated as an additive ingredient in some food records; this does not make raw resin a medicine or establish safety for every route of exposure. Do not chew, soak, decoct, burn, or extract wood/resin at home for ingestion or topical use. Some historical sources describe an acrid or irritating taste, but that is not enough to quantify risk for modern products. Do not convert JECFA additive information into a self-use amount.

G. sanctum heartwood is very dense and commercially valuable; CITES lists the species in Appendix II, and the project extract reports source code W for the MED rows. Do not harvest wild trees, buy untraceable wood or resin, or carry specimens across borders without checking CITES requirements and local law. Pregnant or breastfeeding people, children, people with medical conditions, or anyone taking medicines should not self-use guaiac products; consult a clinician or pharmacist and provide the complete label if exposure has occurred. If ingestion of resin/wood is suspected or a reaction develops, contact local medical services or a poison centre.

When studying the living-plant illustration, look for opposite pinnate leaves with several pairs of small leaflets, a rounded crown, and bluish-purple flower clusters; mature fruit is yellow-orange. Habit, leaflet count, flowering time, and color can vary with age, season, locality, and cultivation conditions. UF/IFAS notes that most observed trees are much smaller than the maximum height and describes growth as very slow. The red aril around the seed should not be confused with a flower or resin.

In dried material, heartwood is olive-brown to dark brown, dense, and heavy; guaiac resin appears as irregular masses or pieces in the JECFA monograph. Neither material can be authenticated from image color alone, and commercial lignum-vitae wood may refer to more than one Guaiacum species. Voucher specimens, harvest-origin documentation, provenance papers, and suitable testing are needed to identify a lot. The AI image on this page supports general morphology study only and cannot replace an expert or sample analysis.