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
Les Janka Legislative and Public Affairs in 1974. He moved to the Pentagon in 1976 as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Near Eastern and African Affairs. Between 1978 and 1982, he worked for DGA International, a consultant assisting European corporations in marketing advanced military technology to the Pentagon. In 1984, after serving in the White House as Deputy Press Secretary for Foreign Affairs under President Ronald Reagan, he founded the Council for American-Saudi Dialogue, a foreign policy lobbying and public affairs consulting firm. Les Janka Leslie A. Janka is President-Saudi Arabia for Quincy International LLC, resident in Riyadh Saudi Arabia.. He