In the early 1500s, Spanish explorers brought back a strange wood from the West Indies. It came from a tree the natives called guaiac (GWI-yack). This wood was very hard, and so heavy it sank in water. When heated, it oozed a pleasantly scented resin.
Like the aromatic tree resins of the Old World (think frankincense and myrrh) this New World resin was also used to treat pain. Up until the 1920s, medicines made from guaiac tree resin and bark shavings were very popular remedies for inflammatory conditions such as rheumatism, arthritis, gout, and syphilis, as well as for bronchitis, sore throat, and other upper respiratory complaints. In Europe the common name for this special wood became “lignum vitae” which means “wood of life” in Latin.
