A great tree, native of the West Indies, and to be seen in some of our curious gardens. The fruit is very large, and the branches are numerous; the leaves are small, each is composed of two or three pair of smaller ones, with no odd leaf at the end of the rib. These are short, broad, roundish, and of a dusky green colour. The flowers are small and yellow, but they grow in large clusters together, so that the tree when in bloom makes a very pretty appearance.
The bark and wood are the only parts of the tree used; they are given in decoction, to promote sweat, and so cleanse the blood; they are excellent against the rheumatism, scurvy, and all other disorders, which arise from what is commonly called foulness of the blood, but they must be taken for a considerable time; for these effects cannot be produced at once.
What is culled gum guaiacum, is the resin poured from this tree; it is very acrid and pungent, and in the rheumatism and many other cases is to be preferred to the wood itself.