Lignum Vitae: Green Beneath a Rough Exterior

People seeing lignum vitae for the first time usually stop at its color. Instead of the brown conventionally associated with wood, its sawn surfaces have a green cast. Its other name, lignum vitae, means “wood of life” in Latin. Held in the hand, it feels surprisingly heavy for its size.

Green Heartwood, Yellow Border

Lignum vitae slabs are divided into two colors. The center is a deep brown with a green cast, while a narrow, bright yellow border runs around the outside. The boundary between the two colors is not blurred but sharply delineated, so the slab’s outline is read first through its color. Even among lignum vitae pieces, some slabs have such deep green that they look almost black, while others contain more brown.

Rough on the Outside

Before it is sawn, lignum vitae looks entirely different. Its surface is cracked and hollowed out, resembling a mass of grayish brown. Saw just one face while leaving that rough layer intact, and the rough exterior and smooth green interior sit side by side within a single piece. This is why the unfinished edge can remain part of the work itself.

Some logs have surfaces hollowed out into a honeycomb-like texture, while some slabs have a long void running through the center. These are not deliberately made holes but forms the log had naturally. The voids may be filled with resin or left as they are and hung on a wall.

Depending on the Direction of Cutting

When worked into smaller pieces, lignum vitae reveals yet another range of colors. A round turning blank carved into a dowel appears almost black, while a cutting board blank shaped toward its end grain shows distinct green circular patterns. Smoothly saw one side of a block, and vertical bands of color emerge; on the opposite side, the uneven outer surface remains intact.

Woodway currently has more than 50 pieces of lignum vitae, including slabs, blocks, square stock, and whole log sections. Each is one of a kind, so the same color and shape will never appear again.

Lignum VitaeExotic hardwoodsOlive-brown

Photos: Woodway Smart Store product photos. For the origin of the name lignum vitae and its uses, see “Lignum Vitae: The Wood That Heals Wounds.”