7,617
edits
Changes
From Gardenology.org - Plant Encyclopedia and Gardening Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to searchno edit summary
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Brazilwood
| status = EN
| image =
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption =
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Fabales]]
| familia = [[Caesalpiniaceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Caesalpinioideae]]
| genus = ''[[Caesalpinia]]''
| species = '''''C. echinata'''''
| binomial = ''Caesalpinia echinata''
| binomial_authority = [[Jean-Baptiste Lamarck|Lam.]]
| range_map = Distribution.ceasalpinia.echinata.png
| range_map_width = 250px
| range_map_caption = natural range
}}
'''Brazilwood''' or '''Pau-Brasil''', sometimes known as '''Pernambuco''' (''Caesalpinia echinata'' [[syn.]] ''Guilandina echinata'' (Lam.) Spreng.) is a [[Brazil]]ian timber tree. This plant has a dense, orange-red wood (which takes a high shine), and it is the premier wood used for making [[bow (music)|bows]] for string instruments from the [[violin family]]. The wood also yields a red [[dye]] called [[brazilin]], which oxidizes to ''brazilein''.
== Terminology ==
When [[Portugal|Portuguese]] explorers found many of these red-hued trees on the coast of [[South America]], they used the name ''pau-brasil'' to describe them: ''pau'' is Portuguese for "wood", and ''brasil'' is said to have come from ''brasa'', Portuguese for "ember". This name was used earlier to describe a different species of tree which was found in Asia and other places and which also produced red dye; but the south american trees soon became the better source of red dye. Brazilwood trees were such a large part of the exports and economy of the land that the country which sprang up in that part of the world took its name from them and is now called [[Brazil]].
Botanically, several tree species are involved in the family ''[[Leguminosae]]'', the ([[legume|pulse]] family). The term "Brasilwood" is most often used to refer to the species ''[[Caesalpinia]] echinata'', although it is also applied to other species. This ''Caesalpinia echinata'' is also known as ''Pau-de-Pernambuco'' ([[Pernambuco]] is also the name of a small state in Northeast Brazil).
In the bow making business, the best quality wood bows are made from "Caesalpinia Echinata" commonly known in the trade as "Pernambuco Wood", while bows of lesser quality wood are made from other tropical species often called "Brazilwood". "Pernambuco" and "Brazilwood" as used in the stringed instruments bows come from completely different species, contrary to some popular belief. Examples of "Brazilwood" species used for bows include "ipe" and "massaranduba", "Tabebuia avellanadae" and "Manilkara bidentata" respectively.
==Historical importance==
[[Image:Caesalpinia echinata Taub95.png|thumb|300px|right|An illustration of a young tree and its flower.]]
[[Image:Brazilwood tree in Vitória, ES, Brazil.jpg|thumb|200px|right|An adult specimen in a square in [[Vitória]], Brazil.]]
In the 15th and 16th centuries, brazilwood was highly valued in [[Europe]] and quite difficult to get. Coming from [[Asia]], it was traded in powder form and used as a [[brazilin|red dye]] in the manufacture of luxury [[textiles]], such as [[velvet]], in high demand during the [[Renaissance]]. When Portuguese navigators discovered present-day Brazil, on [[April 22]], [[1500]], they immediately saw that brazilwood was extremely abundant along the coast and in its hinterland, along the rivers. In a few years, a hectic and very profitable operation for [[logging|felling]] and transporting by shipping all the brazilwood logs they could get was established, as a crown-granted Portuguese [[monopoly]]. The rich [[commerce]] which soon followed stimulated other nations to try to harvest and smuggle brazilwood [[contraband]] out of Brazil, or even [[Privateer|corsairs]] attacking loaded Portuguese ships in order to steal their cargo. For example, the unsuccessful attempt of a French expedition led by [[Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon]], vice-admiral of [[Brittany]] and corsair under the King, in 1555, to establish a colony in present-day [[Rio de Janeiro]] ([[France Antarctique]]) was motivated in part by the bounty generated by economic exploitation of brazilwood. In addition, this plant is also cited in ''[[Flora Brasiliensis]]'' by [[Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius]].
== Exploitation ==
Excessive exploitation led to a steep decrease in the number of brazilwood trees in the 18th century, causing the collapse of this economic activity. Presently, the species is nearly [[extinction|extinct]] in most of its original range. Brazilwood is listed as an endangered species by the [[IUCN]], and it is cited in the [[official list of endangered flora of Brazil]]. The trade of brazilwood is likely to be banned in the immediate future, creating a major problem in the bow-making industry which highly values this wood{{Fact|date=July 2007}}. The [[International Pernambuco Conservation Initiative]] (IPCI), whose members are the bowmakers who rely on pernambuco for their livelihoods, is working to replant it. IPCI is advocating the use of other woods for violin bows as it raises money to plant pernambuco seedlings. The shortage of pernambuco has also helped the [[carbon fiber]] bow industry to thrive.
''[[Tree of Music]],'' a feature-length [[Documentary film|documentary]] on the plight of this species is currently in production.
==External links==
*[http://www.arcosbrasil.com/PernambuccoWood/pernambuccowood.html About Pernambuco Wood] from a bowmaker's website.
*[http://plants.usda.gov/java/ClassificationServlet?source=profile&symbol=CAEC3&display=31 USDA Plants Profile: ''Caesalpinia echinata'']
*{{pt icon}} [http://florabrasiliensis.cria.org.br/search?taxon_id=5939 Flora Brasiliensis: ''Caesalpinia echinata'']
*{{pt icon}} [http://www.ipef.br/identificacao/nativas/detalhes.asp?codigo=9 Instituto de Pesquisas e Estudos Florestais: ''Caesalpinia echinata'']
[[Category:Caesalpinioideae]]
[[Category:Flora of Brazil]]
[[Category:Dyes]]
[[Category:Wood]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = Brazilwood
| status = EN
| image =
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption =
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Fabales]]
| familia = [[Caesalpiniaceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Caesalpinioideae]]
| genus = ''[[Caesalpinia]]''
| species = '''''C. echinata'''''
| binomial = ''Caesalpinia echinata''
| binomial_authority = [[Jean-Baptiste Lamarck|Lam.]]
| range_map = Distribution.ceasalpinia.echinata.png
| range_map_width = 250px
| range_map_caption = natural range
}}
'''Brazilwood''' or '''Pau-Brasil''', sometimes known as '''Pernambuco''' (''Caesalpinia echinata'' [[syn.]] ''Guilandina echinata'' (Lam.) Spreng.) is a [[Brazil]]ian timber tree. This plant has a dense, orange-red wood (which takes a high shine), and it is the premier wood used for making [[bow (music)|bows]] for string instruments from the [[violin family]]. The wood also yields a red [[dye]] called [[brazilin]], which oxidizes to ''brazilein''.
== Terminology ==
When [[Portugal|Portuguese]] explorers found many of these red-hued trees on the coast of [[South America]], they used the name ''pau-brasil'' to describe them: ''pau'' is Portuguese for "wood", and ''brasil'' is said to have come from ''brasa'', Portuguese for "ember". This name was used earlier to describe a different species of tree which was found in Asia and other places and which also produced red dye; but the south american trees soon became the better source of red dye. Brazilwood trees were such a large part of the exports and economy of the land that the country which sprang up in that part of the world took its name from them and is now called [[Brazil]].
Botanically, several tree species are involved in the family ''[[Leguminosae]]'', the ([[legume|pulse]] family). The term "Brasilwood" is most often used to refer to the species ''[[Caesalpinia]] echinata'', although it is also applied to other species. This ''Caesalpinia echinata'' is also known as ''Pau-de-Pernambuco'' ([[Pernambuco]] is also the name of a small state in Northeast Brazil).
In the bow making business, the best quality wood bows are made from "Caesalpinia Echinata" commonly known in the trade as "Pernambuco Wood", while bows of lesser quality wood are made from other tropical species often called "Brazilwood". "Pernambuco" and "Brazilwood" as used in the stringed instruments bows come from completely different species, contrary to some popular belief. Examples of "Brazilwood" species used for bows include "ipe" and "massaranduba", "Tabebuia avellanadae" and "Manilkara bidentata" respectively.
==Historical importance==
[[Image:Caesalpinia echinata Taub95.png|thumb|300px|right|An illustration of a young tree and its flower.]]
[[Image:Brazilwood tree in Vitória, ES, Brazil.jpg|thumb|200px|right|An adult specimen in a square in [[Vitória]], Brazil.]]
In the 15th and 16th centuries, brazilwood was highly valued in [[Europe]] and quite difficult to get. Coming from [[Asia]], it was traded in powder form and used as a [[brazilin|red dye]] in the manufacture of luxury [[textiles]], such as [[velvet]], in high demand during the [[Renaissance]]. When Portuguese navigators discovered present-day Brazil, on [[April 22]], [[1500]], they immediately saw that brazilwood was extremely abundant along the coast and in its hinterland, along the rivers. In a few years, a hectic and very profitable operation for [[logging|felling]] and transporting by shipping all the brazilwood logs they could get was established, as a crown-granted Portuguese [[monopoly]]. The rich [[commerce]] which soon followed stimulated other nations to try to harvest and smuggle brazilwood [[contraband]] out of Brazil, or even [[Privateer|corsairs]] attacking loaded Portuguese ships in order to steal their cargo. For example, the unsuccessful attempt of a French expedition led by [[Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon]], vice-admiral of [[Brittany]] and corsair under the King, in 1555, to establish a colony in present-day [[Rio de Janeiro]] ([[France Antarctique]]) was motivated in part by the bounty generated by economic exploitation of brazilwood. In addition, this plant is also cited in ''[[Flora Brasiliensis]]'' by [[Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius]].
== Exploitation ==
Excessive exploitation led to a steep decrease in the number of brazilwood trees in the 18th century, causing the collapse of this economic activity. Presently, the species is nearly [[extinction|extinct]] in most of its original range. Brazilwood is listed as an endangered species by the [[IUCN]], and it is cited in the [[official list of endangered flora of Brazil]]. The trade of brazilwood is likely to be banned in the immediate future, creating a major problem in the bow-making industry which highly values this wood{{Fact|date=July 2007}}. The [[International Pernambuco Conservation Initiative]] (IPCI), whose members are the bowmakers who rely on pernambuco for their livelihoods, is working to replant it. IPCI is advocating the use of other woods for violin bows as it raises money to plant pernambuco seedlings. The shortage of pernambuco has also helped the [[carbon fiber]] bow industry to thrive.
''[[Tree of Music]],'' a feature-length [[Documentary film|documentary]] on the plight of this species is currently in production.
==External links==
*[http://www.arcosbrasil.com/PernambuccoWood/pernambuccowood.html About Pernambuco Wood] from a bowmaker's website.
*[http://plants.usda.gov/java/ClassificationServlet?source=profile&symbol=CAEC3&display=31 USDA Plants Profile: ''Caesalpinia echinata'']
*{{pt icon}} [http://florabrasiliensis.cria.org.br/search?taxon_id=5939 Flora Brasiliensis: ''Caesalpinia echinata'']
*{{pt icon}} [http://www.ipef.br/identificacao/nativas/detalhes.asp?codigo=9 Instituto de Pesquisas e Estudos Florestais: ''Caesalpinia echinata'']
[[Category:Caesalpinioideae]]
[[Category:Flora of Brazil]]
[[Category:Dyes]]
[[Category:Wood]]
