''Haematoxylum campechianum'' (blackwood, bloodwood tree, bluewood, campeachy tree, campeachy wood, campeche logwood, campeche wood, Jamaica wood, logwood or logwood tree) is a species of
flowering tree in the
legume family,
, that is native to southern
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
,where it is known as ''Árbol de campeche'', and introduced to the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...
, northern
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
, and other localities around the world. The tree was of great economic importance from the 17th century to the 19th century, when it was commonly logged and exported to Europe for use in
dyeing fabrics. The modern nation of
Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...
developed from 17th- and 18th-century
logging camps established by the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
. The tree's scientific name means "bloodwood" (''haima'' being
Greek for blood and ''xylon'' for wood).
Uses
''Haematoxylum campechianum'' was used for a long time as a natural source of
dye
A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution and ...
.
The woodchips are still used as an important source of
haematoxylin, which is used in
histology
Histology,
also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures v ...
for
staining
Staining is a technique used to enhance contrast in samples, generally at the microscopic level. Stains and dyes are frequently used in histology (microscopic study of biological tissues), in cytology (microscopic study of cells), and in th ...
.
[ ]
The
bark
Bark may refer to:
* Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick
* Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog)
Places
* Bark, Germany
* Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland
Arts, e ...
and
leaves are also used in various medical applications. In its time, it was considered a versatile dye, and was widely used on
textile
Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, different #Fabric, fabric types, etc. At f ...
s and also for
paper
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distribu ...
.
The extract was once used as a
pH indicator. Brownish when neutral, it becomes yellow-reddish under acidic conditions and purple when alkaline.
In a small demonstrative experiment, if two drops, one of concentrated
ammonia
Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous ...
and one of logwood extract, are placed close enough, the NH
3 vapours will change the color of the extract to a purple shade.
''Chemical Recreations,'' John Joseph Griffin, 1834, p. 279
/ref>
Logwood and pirates
Logwood also played an important role in the lives of 17th-century buccaneers and into the Golden Age of Piracy. Spain claimed all of Central and South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...
as its sovereign territory through the 17th and 18th centuries; despite this, English, Dutch, and French sailors recognized the value of logwood and set up camps to cut and collect the trees for shipment back to Europe. Spain periodically sent privateers to capture the logwood cutters – for example, Juan Corso's 1680 cruise – sometimes in retaliation for buccaneer raids on Spanish cities. Logwood cutters, now out of work, frequently joined onto pirate and buccaneer crews to raid the Spanish in return, as Edmund Cooke did after losing two logwood-hauling ships to the Spanish. When Spanish forces ejected a great many logwood cutters in 1715, they flocked to Nassau
Nassau may refer to:
Places Bahamas
*Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence
Canada
*Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792
*Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...
and swelled the already-considerable numbers of pirates gathering there. By the mid-1720s logwood cutters had themselves become targets of pirates such as Francis Spriggs, Edward Low, and George Lowther; pirate captains Samuel Bellamy
Captain Samuel Bellamy ( c. 23 February, 1689 – 26 April 1717), later known as "Black Sam" Bellamy, was an English sailor, turned pirate, who operated in the early 18th century. He is best known as the wealthiest pirate in recorded history, an ...
and Blackbeard went further, turning captured logwood-hauling sloops into pirate vessels.
Logwood cutting was profitable – "According to a government report, in the four years 1713 to 1716, some 4,965 tons of logwood were exported to England at not less than £60,000 per annum" – but only brought in a fraction of the profits from tobacco and other legal exports, and "was always a minor industry carried on by a few hundred ex-seamen and pirates in a remote corner of the globe".
Gallery
Image:Haematoxylum campechianum Ypey69.jpg
Image:Haematoxylon campechianum1.jpg
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q376320
Caesalpinieae
Medicinal plants of Central America
Plant dyes
Crops originating from Mexico
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus