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Guaiacum officinale
Zygophyllaceae FAMILY Endangered

Guaiacum officinale

Guaiacum officinale

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitTree
GrowthSlow

A plant of the moist, lowland tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 100 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 28°c, but can tolerate 20 - 34°c[1]. It can be killed by temperatures of 1°c or lower[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,000 - 2,000mm, but tolerates 500 - 3,000mm[1]. Prefers a sunny position[2]. Succeeds in a range of fertile, moisture-retentive soils[2]. Tolerant of moderate levels of salt in the soil[1]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 7.5, tolerating 4.5 - 8[1]. Plants are very tolerant of salt-laden winds[2]. Established plants are very drought tolerant[2]. This species is the national tree of Jamaica, where it is widely planted as a street tree[2].

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Guaiacum+officinale>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  2. [2]Tropical and Subtropical Trees - A Worldwide Encyclopaedic Guide. — Barwick. M. · Thames & Hudson, London · 2004 · ISBN 0-500-51181-0 ↩︎A superb book, very concise and well written, giving a wealth of information on 400 or more species including descriptions, habitat, cultivation details and plant uses. A wealth of colour photographs bring each plant vividly to life.
  3. [3]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  4. [4]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  5. [5]Economic Plants. An index to Economic Products of the Vegetable Kingdom in Jamaica — Fawcett. W. · Government of Jamaica, Kingston. · 1891 ↩︎A nice little guide giving a terse description and details of useful plants grown economically in Jamaica. Rather dated, so many of the names have been changed since then. Also available for download from the Internet.
  6. [6]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.