Guaiacum coutleri
Sonoran Guayacán
Family: Zygophyllaceae
Large, evergreen shrub growing to about 10’ tall and 6’ wide, often much smaller because of twig dieback in winter in our region. Flowers in warm weather. The fruit is golden-orange, splitting open to reveal seeds covered with vivid red pulp.
Full sun, moderate to low water with good drainage. Stems may experience damage at about 28°F, though plant is root hardy to about 25°F.
Nectar rich flowers and larval food plant for the gray hairstreak (Strymon melinus) and the lyside sulfur (Kricogonia lyside). Fruit eating birds consume the aril off the seeds.
Photo by Thomas Van Devender, SEINET
Guaiacum coulteri on iNaturalist
The plants are harvested locally for their highly valuable dense heartwood, lignum vitae, which has led to a scarcity of mature trees. It is very similar to, and can easily be mistaken for, Gaiacum sanctum, a plant widely distributed throughout Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and Florida, and renowned for its medical properties.The genus Guaiacum comes from the common name guayacán which originated in the Taíno language of the Bahamas. The word was adopted into English in 1533, and was the first American-origin word in the English language. The specific epithet, coulteri, commemorates Irish botanist and explorer Thomas Coulter.
A dry forest hardwood species endemic to the mountainous Pacific coast regions of western Mexico from Sonora south to Oaxaca and also in Guatemala.
The purple of the blooms can be seen from quite a distance, photo by Juan Ramón Manjarrez, iNaturalist
The capsules release the aril-covered seeds. Photo by Ana Lilia Murrieta, iNaturalist
Plants that are protected can become arborescent (tree-like), photo by hayatoyoshii, iNaturalist