Thread: (genus) Bulnesia

Thanks Runge,

thats an excellent overview of the Genus. I have a slab of verawood which is as you describe it dense brownish-green with the familiar & similar oily / phenolic smell. You should write more of such learned articles for World of Wood. Many would appreciate them.

With listing of all Lignum species in Cites, i guess all trade should cease, which will put pressure on related species like verawood /Bulnesia. My stocks of both are small now. Used some lignum in replacing a beech block insert in the table of my 19” bandsaw recently. The beech lasted 25 years, the lignum should last 125 yrs. Also found some croquet heads which have sapwood & pale but tough heartwood.

Thanks again,

Euge
PS: will respond to your interesting email when I have some time on my hands. Edit to elaborate & typo

Hi Euge,

Thanks.

Gonopterodendron sarmientoi and G. bonariensis are both found in Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina while G. carrapo and G. arborboreum are endemic to Colombia with the latter also found in Venezuela.

G. sarmientoi is list in Appendix III of the CITES document. G. carrapo is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. My understanding is that Colombia has severely clamped down on logging of G. arboreum.

So, where does a woodie get some of this timber? I think you go after G. arboreum. The tree is big and produces sizable pieces. In the US, look here. Gilmer Wood says that they cannot be shipped out of the US due to CITES. That is only true if the species is G. sarmientoi and he has always, to the best of my knowledge, only carried G. arboreum. Alternatively, you can go to Colombia and buy it in bulk. It seems like this is the big source:

Planeta Verde Forestal SAS, Pablo Salazar, Caldas, Colombia

There is still some G. sarmientoi flooring to be had from INPA Paraguay/Bolivia but it would be a paperwork mess to get it out of either country.

With regard to CITES, at least from a US perspective, I am allowed to import CITES species IF I can obtain a permit and my seller does the same. Years ago, I spent $70 on a permit to import Lignum Vitae. The seller had a permit to export from his country. Overall, I probably imported 750kg of Lignum Vitae. Later, the seller tried to sell to wood stores in the US but his government shut him down. He was trying to sell too much.

Below is a picture of several dresser drawers made from G. arboreum.

00004_crop.jpg

While I'm at it, there is one guy in the US who has serious stockpiles of Lignum-Vitae - Bob Shortridge.

Homepage - Lignum Vitae | Wood Bearings

He appears to be getting much of his recent Lignum Vitae from the Yucatan Peninsula. That means it is Guaiacum sanctum.