By robin robinson Key West Garden Club

Article Tools

In myth, the wood of the lignum vitae tree was found in the Garden of Eden and was used for the Holy Grail, therefore it was called "holy wood." Whoever consumes its resin was given perpetual health, immortality and protected from weakness and infirmity. Merlin's staff was made of the wood, as was the bathtub in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's book "Love in the Time of Cholera."

The Native Americans taught the Spanish how to extract its resin to make purges, cathartics and antiseptics treating arthritis, rheumatism, syphilis and tuberculosis. It was the "penicillin of its day." It still is used in modern medicine as a test for hidden blood. It originally was brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus who declared that "it was immune to all destructive organisms."

By 1500 its wood was regularly shipped from the Florida Keys to Europe. Later, timber cutters from the Bahamas decimated large tracts of lignum vitae forests. It could neutralize poisons and served as a contraceptive. It was made into dishes, mallets, bowling balls, butcher blocks, guitar picks and billy clubs.

Many of the trees were destroyed from 1850 to 1900 when Keys land was cleared for agricultural plantations. One cubic foot weighs 82 pounds and the tree, whose specific gravity is 1.39, sinks when immersed in water.

Because of its hardness it was desired by shipbuilders. The Navy used it in World War II to make the submarine propeller-shaft bearings for the USS Pampanito. The hinges and locks made from the wood lasted more than 100 years in the Erie Canal.

It was called "el palo para muchas cosas," the wood of many uses, and that was its downfall. The wood may have been long-lasting, but the stock of living trees never recovered.

The public interest raised in a 1968 article in Natural History magazine resulted in Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park (Mile Marker 78.5) being declared a protected historic site. However, the tree still is endangered and exists in the U.S. only in the Keys.

The tree has three of four pairs of bright green leaflets about one inch long. Because its wood is 30 percent resin it is self-lubricating. Once sanded, the surface of the wood looks like it has been varnished.

Clusters of rare, bright-blue flowers with five petals attract bees and butterflies, especially the obligate Kricogonia lyside (sulpher lyside) for which the tree is its only larval food. Red seeds cover a black core and exist in an orange five-part seed pod that pops open throughout the year.

The native lignum vitae grows to a height of 25 feet and 1 1/2 foot in diameter. Its bark is pale gray and rough. Its growth rings are not distinct, so it is difficult to determine a tree's age. A full grown example is located just to the left at the entrance to the gardens of the Key West Garden Club, and there is one in the cemetery.

There are six species in the Zygophyllaceae family and the larger leafed Cuban version is planted in the native section of the garden on the hill. In the cemetery in the Otto family fenced section (with the little deer) there is what appears to be an old lignum vitae that has a trunk more than four feet in circumference.

It is difficult to propagate, but the Key West Garden Club has taken a special interest in growing this endangered tree. The Lignum Vitae "Wood of Life" Conservation Project endeavors to introduce more of these trees in the Keys. Many sizes of specimens are available for sale from Tuesday through Saturday at the Garden Club. Since they are slow-growing, the larger trees sell first at the Garden Club sales events. They bonsai very well.

I wish to extend special thanks to Denise Kahlar, who created a comprehensive brochure about the lignum vitae tree for the Garden Club in 1996.

January is a busy month for the Garden Club. Here is a list of some upcoming events:

The monthly Garden Club meeting is at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday. The subject is "Caribbean Palms for Your Garden" with speaker Carl Gilley, a landscape designer with Thrinax Inc.

The winter Garden Club buffet luncheon will be Saturday at the Key West Yacht Club. Cocktails are at 11:30 a.m., and lunch is served at noon. Call Patti Rodriguez to reserve your $25 ticket at 305-292-9040

The monthly horticulture meeting is from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Jan. 14.

Patrick Tierney, a well-known landscape designer, will present a free in-depth workshop, "A Garden in Balance: Blending Natives with Tropicals," followed by a social where one-on-one questions will be answered. If you have volunteered or would like to help, please call Kim at 305-745-2030.

And lastly, the Sculpture Key West opening reception will be held from 6 to 8p.m. Jan. 18 at the Garden Club.

Key West Garden Club's master gardener Robin Robinson was a columnist at the Chicago Daily News and syndicated by Princeton Features. Her book, "Peeling the Onion: Reversing the Ravages of Stroke," can be found on Amazon.com. This column is part of a series developed by the Key West Garden Club. Visit ww.keywestgardenclub.com.