Guaiacum uses, including as lumber, for medicinal purposes, and as ornamentals. The trade of all species of "Guaiacum" is controlled under CITES Appendix II. "Guaiacum officinale" is the national flower of Jamaica, while "Guaiacum sanctum" is the national tree of the Bahamas. The genus is famous as the supplier of lignum vitae, which is the heartwood of several species in the genus. It is the fourth-hardest variety of wood as measured by the Janka hardness test, requiring a force of to embed a steel ball in diameter half that distance into the wood. The Spanish encountered guaiacum wood when they conquered
Vickers hardness test the unit Newton per square millimeter (N/mm2), but results directly in the Vickers hardness number (usually given without units), which is in fact kilograms-force per square millimeter (kgf/mm²). To convert the Vickers hardness number to SI units the hardness number in kilograms-force per square millimeter (kgf/mm²) has to be multiplied with the standard gravity (9.806 65) to get the hardness in MPa (N/mm²) and furthermore divided by 1000 to get the hardness in GPa. Vickers hardness numbers are reported as xxxHVyy, e.g. 440HV30, or xxxHVyy/zz if duration of force differs from 10 s to 15 s, e.g. 440HV30/20, where: Vickers