Paubrasilia
| Brazilwood | |
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| An adult specimen in a square in Vitória, Brazil. | |
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| Species: | C. echinata
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| Binomial name | |
| Caesalpinia echinata | |
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Guilandina echinata (Lam.) Spreng. | |
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2009) |
Brazilwood or Pau-Brasil (also called ibirapitanga in Tupi or still pau de pernambuco, among other names (Caesalpinia echinata syn. Guilandina echinata (Lam.) Spreng.) is a Brazilian timber tree. This plant has a dense, orange-red heartwood that takes a high shine, and it is the premier wood used for making bows for string instruments. The wood also yields a red dye called brazilin, which oxidizes to brazilein.
Etymology
When Portuguese explorers found these trees of a deep red hue inside 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 had been earlier used 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, all in the family Fabaceae (the pulse family). The term "Brasilwood" is most often used to refer to the species Caesalpinia echinata, but it is also applied to other species. The tree is also known by other names, as ibirapitanga, Tupi for "red wood"; or pau de pernambuco, named after the brazilian state of Pernambuco).
In the bow making business it is usual to refer to species other than Caesalpinia echinata as "Brazilwood"; examples include Pink Ipê (Tabebuia impetiginosa), Massaranduba (Manilkara bidentata) and Palo Brasil (Haematoxylum brasiletto). The 'actual' Brazilwood is highly reputed and is usually called Pernambuco Wood in this particular context.
Historical importance
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 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 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 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 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 - restoration of the species in the wild being hampered by the fact that it is a climax community species, which will only develop well when planted amongst secondary forest vegetation[1]. Although lots of saplings have been distributed and/or sold during recent decades, that has led to the tree being planted in places outside its natural range, with somwhat poor results, such as happens with Brazilwood trees used for urban landscaping in the city of São Paulo, whose development and flowering is usually hampered by the colder environment[2].
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 (see Smithsonian, April 2004, cover story). 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 on the plight of this species, is currently in production.
Bibliography
- ^ Cf. Backes, P. & Irgang, B., Mata Atlântica: as árvores e a paisagem (Atlantic Reinforest: its trees and landscape), Porto Alegre, Paisagem do Sul, 2004, page 228
- ^ Cf. [1], blog, 15th. December 2009 entry; in exceptional circunstances, however, Brazilwood may flower in São Paulo, as shown by the photos in this page
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