Brazilwood
| Paubrasilia | |
|---|---|
 |
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| An adult specimen in a square in Vitória, Brazil. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Caesalpinioideae |
| Tribe: | Caesalpinieae |
| Genus: | Paubrasilia |
| Species: | P. echinata |
| Binomial name | |
|
Paubrasilia echinata (Lam.) E.Gagnon, H.C.Lima & G.P.Lewis |
|
| Synonyms | |
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Guilandina echinata (Lam.) Spreng. Caesalpinia echinata Lam. 1785 |
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Guilandina echinata (Lam.) Spreng. Caesalpinia echinata Lam. 1785
Paubrasilia is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. The sole species it contains, P. echinata, is a Brazilian timber tree commonly known as Brazilwood or Pernambuco tree (Portuguese: Pau-Brasil, Pau de Pernambuco; Tupi Ibirapitanga). This plant has a dense, orange-red heartwood that takes a high shine, and it is the premier wood used for making bows for stringed instruments. The wood also yields a red dye called brazilin, which oxidizes to brazilein.
The name pau-brasil was applied to other species of Caesalpinia in the medieval period, and transferred to P. echinata in the 16th century. The name of Brazil is shortened from Terra do Brasil "land of brazilwood".
When Portuguese explorers found these trees on the coast of South America, they recognised it as a relative of those Asian species of Caesalpinia that were already used in Europe for dye, or Portuguese pau-brasil, or as Sappanwood.
The South American trees soon became the better source of red dye. Brazilwood trees were such a large part of the exports and economy of the land that the country which sprang up in that part of the world took its name from them and is now called Brazil.
Botanically, several tree species are involved, all in the family Fabaceae (the pulse family). The term "brazilwood" is most often used to refer to the species Caesalpinia echinata, but it is also applied to other species, such as Caesalpinia sappan and Haematoxylum brasiletto. The tree is also known by other names, as ibirapitanga, Tupi for "red wood"; or pau de pernambuco, named after the Brazilian state of Pernambuco.
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