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
Janka Bryl National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Bryl's first story appeared in 1938 and his first short story collection appeared in 1946. The first collection of stories was called "Apaviadanni" (Stories). Bryl's books are mostly works of psychological fiction and his characters tend to be sensitive and prone to introspection. They were largely set in Belarusian villages and frequently about the people's fight against the Nazis. Janka Bryl Janka (Yanka) Bryl (, August 4, 1917 – July 25, 2006) was a Belarusian writer best known for his short stories. He was one of the older generation of Soviet writers who had