Guaiacum angustifolium Engelm.

[syn. Porlieria angustifolia (Engelm.) Gray]


Evergreen shrub or small tree to 7 m tall, often growing in clumps; the branches black, thick, and stubby. Leaves opposite or crowded in fascicles at the nodes, pinnately compound with four to eight pairs of leaflets (leaflets linear-oblong to linear-spatulate, with entire margins). Flowering March April; flowers violet or purple; fruit a brown capsule containing one to three bean-like, red, yellow, or orange seeds.


Frequent throughout the Rio Grande Plains, southern Edwards Plateau, and Trans-Pecos.

Guayacan is an important browse plant for deer. The leaves contain 16 to 18 percent crude protein.

GUAYACAN, SOAP-BUSH, IRON-WOOD