WorldFloraDB - Guaiacum officinale

Characteristics

A tree. It grows 8 m tall. The leaves are 5-12 cm long. There are 4-6 leaflets. These are broadly oval and rounded at the tip. The veins are raised underneath. The flowers are about 2.5 cm across. They are blue-purple to white. The petals are hairy on the upper surface. The ovary has 2 lobes. The fruit are heart shaped and 2 cm long. There is 1 seed in each lobe. The seed is brownish and about 1.2 cm long.

Life form

perennial

Growth form

tree

Growth support

free-standing

Foliage retention

Sexuality

hermaphrodite

Pollination

-

Spread

-

Mature width (meter)

-

Mature height (meter)

9.1 - 10.0

Root system

-

Rooting depth (meter)

1.2

Root diameter (meter)

-

Flower color

-

Blooming months

Jan	Feb	Mar
Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep
Oct	Nov	Dec

Fruit color

-

Fruiting months

-

Nitrogen fixer

-

Photosynthetic pathway

-

Environment

A tropical plant. It needs a temperature above 15°C. It grows in lowland dry forest often near the coast.

More

Alluvial deposits near the coast. Dry and humid coastal woodland.

Light
Soil humidity
Soil texture
Soil acidity
Soil nutriment	-
Hardiness (USDA)

Usage

The plant is the source of a resin used for flavouring cakes and chicle. It is added to edible oils to prevent acidification and improve keeping quality. The cooked fruit are tean.

Uses	bee plant environmental use fiber food food additive invertebrate food material medicinal oil ornamental tea timber wood
Edible	fruits
Therapeutic use	Anti-infective agents (flower), Gout (stem), Laxatives (stem), Pharyngitis (stem), General tonic for rejuvenation (stem), Tonsillitis (stem), Alterative (unspecified), Anodyne (unspecified), Aperient (unspecified), Asthma (unspecified), Cancer(Cervix) (unspecified), Carminative (unspecified), Catarrh (unspecified), Deobstruent (unspecified), Depurative (unspecified), Diabetes (unspecified), Diuretic (unspecified), Dropsy (unspecified), Gout (unspecified), Pharyngitis (unspecified), Poison (unspecified), Rheumatism (unspecified), Scrofula (unspecified), Stimulant (unspecified), Sudorific (unspecified), Tonic (unspecified), Tonsillitis (unspecified), Venereal (unspecified), Purgative (unspecified), Skin (unspecified), Swelling (unspecified), Toothache (unspecified), Laxative (unspecified), Anti-inflammatory agents (unspecified), Antirheumatic agents (unspecified), Diuretics (unspecified), Liver diseases (unspecified), Syphilis (unspecified), Diaphoretic (unspecified)
Human toxicity	-
Animal toxicity	-

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed.

Mode	seedlings
Germination duration (days)	-
Germination temperacture (C°)	-
Germination luminosity	-
Germination treatment	-
Minimum temperature (C°)	-
Optimum temperature (C°)	22 - 28
Size	-
Vigor	-
Productivity	-