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
Carbonate hardness [milli[equivalent]s] per litre (meq/L) or ppm. Carbonate hardness expressed in ppm does not necessarily equal carbonate alkalinity expressed in ppm. formula_1 whereas formula_2 However, for water with a pH below 8.5, the CO will be less than 1% of the HCO so carbonate alkalinity will equal carbonate hardness to within an error of less than 1%. In a solution where only CO affects the pH, carbonate hardness can be used to calculate the concentration of dissolved CO in the solution with the formula CO = 3 × KH × 10, where KH is degrees of carbonate hardness and CO is