Sabicu wood or sabicu is the

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

of at least two species of the genus ''

Lysiloma ''Lysiloma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus is native to the Americas, and species range from Arizona and New Mexico through Mexico and Central America to Costa Rica, and in Florida, Cuba, Hispaniola, the Baham ...

''. ''

Lysiloma sabicu ''Lysiloma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus is native to the Americas, and species range from Arizona and New Mexico through Mexico and Central America to Costa Rica, and in Florida, Cuba, Hispaniola, the Baham ...

'' (L.) Benth. occurs sparingly in the Bahamas, Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and Cuba. It was named by

George Bentham George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

(1800-1884) from a Cuban specimen examined in 1854. Bentham went on to identify a second species, ''

Lysiloma latisiliquum ''Lysiloma latisiliquum'', commonly known as false tamarind or wild tamarind, is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae, that is native to southern Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Fl ...

'' (L.) Benth., which grows best in the Bahamas. The latter is commonly known as 'wild tamarind' or 'false tamarind'. The wood of both species is similar, being mid-brown in colour, sometimes with a reddish hue, heavy (specific gravity of 0.40-0.75) hard and durable. Some timber is well figured, but most relatively plain. The wood has been used in construction, shipbuilding and in furniture making, although its weight is a distinct drawback for the latter purpose. The stairs of

The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around th ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, in which

The Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took p ...

of 1851 was held, were made of sabicu due to its durability. Despite the enormous traffic that passed over them, the wood at the end was found to be little affected by wear. There is some confusion in the published literature between ''L. sabicu'' and ''L. latisiliquum'', although there is little doubt that the former was the most important commercial species.Alexander Howard, ''Timbers of the World'', London (1948), p. 520; Thomas Laslett, ''Timber and Timber Trees'', London (1875), p. 145. There is also confusion with other Bahamian species colloquially known as 'tamarind', several of which were also called sabicu. The most common of these are ''Peltophorum adnatum'' Griseb. and ''Cojoba arborea'' (L.) Britton & Rose. At various times their wood has also been called 'horseflesh mahogany'. The Economic Botany Collection at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, contains specimens of wood from all these species collected at various times in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The labelling evinces considerable confusion, but it seems likely that 'horseflesh mahogany' properly applies to ''Peltophorum'' and ''Cojoba'', while sabicu applies to ''Lysiloma''.

References

{{reflist Wood Lysiloma Plant common names