guaiacum; roughbark lignum-vitae; guaiacwood
A tropical tree species (Guaiacum officinale) known for its hard wood and medicinal resin. Botanical term.
Guaiacum is known as an extremely hard wood.
The resin of guaiacum was once used to treat syphilis.
Kanji spelling is rare; the word is usually written in kana.
The Japanese name ユソウボク is a phonetic adaptation of the Chinese-derived reading ゆそうぼく for the kanji 癒瘡木, literally 'heal-sore-tree', referring to its historical medicinal use.