Pau Santo (Zollernia paraensis) has many trade names such as Brazilian blackheart, Enemy, Palo Santo (Spanish) and comes from northeast Brazil (Para), where it grows sporadically as a smaller tree 20 to 25 meters high and up to 50 cm in diameter. The wood is very hard and extremely heavy, the specific weight is an incredible 1.40.
Freshly cut wood has a yellow-brown, even greenish color, which changes to a dark brown with a grey or green tinge to almost black when exposed to light, while the sapwood is pale yellowish and sharply separated from the heartwood. Pau Santo is very similar to lignum vitae in terms of density, hardness and feel; it feels waxy, but is not related to the guaiacum family. Due to its scarcity, the wood is very rare, hard to find in the market. It is used universally in its native country for knife handles, furniture, musical instruments, and high-quality interior design. Due to its extreme hardness, very fine hairline cracks often appear on the surface, but these are no reason for complaint as they are only very superficial.
