Logwood also called bloodwood tree is evergreen species of flowering tree or bush from 3 to 10 m in height.The wood is heavy, extremely hard with reddish-brown color.
The leaves are pinnately compound with oval or heart-shaped leaflets. The small yellow flowers grow in a cluster from the leaf axil (upper angle between branch and leaf stem) and produce long flattened pods that are pointed at both ends.
Logwood was used for a long time as a natural source of dye and was widely used on textiles and also for paper. Logwood chips are still used as an important source of haematoxylin, which is used in histology for staining.
The color-giving principle of logwood is haematoxylin, which on oxidation produce haematein, the real coloring. The scientific name Haematoxylum campechianum remind the dyeing properties from greek haima-atos, blood, and xylon, wood, “bloodwood”.
Central America.
For dyeing.
