Description

Logwood (Haematoxylon campechianum) is a small, many-trucked redwood tree that was named by the Spaniards who discovered it on the shores of the Bay of Campeche in Mexico. Logwood was introduced to Europe in the sixteenth century and was especially prized because it could produce a good black with an iron mordant. In colonial America it was one of the six principal imported dye materials because it produced a number of colors and was inexpensive (6¢ a pound in the 1830s). The dye is found in the heartwood of the tree and its manner of preparation similar to Sandalwood and Brazilwood. Fading is minimal.