By Marcio Werneck da Cunha and Haroldo Cavalcante de Lima.
The predatory exploration that brought this species to the brink of extinction has, without a doubt, been the main obstacle in precisely evaluating available historical and botanical information. This is an opportune moment, therefore, to present more precise information, in order to emphasize the degree to which this rare example of the Brazilian flora is threatened and to promote the need for its preservation. Several protective measure have already been taken, although in most cases these effort lack sufficient criteria which would guarantee these species survival in the natural population and effective conservation of its gene bank. The scarcity of historical and botanical information about brazilwood (also known as Pernambuco wood) has created an air of mystery concerning the original geographic distribution of this important species. The pioneer role which Pernambuco wood played in the Portuguese colonization of the new world also added to the mainly of the 16th and 17th century, contains data that, even today are difficult to prove scientifically.
The data presented here came from various sources-historical and botanical literature, museum and herbarium collection, and personal observation of those familiar uses and/or cultivation of Pernambuco wood. The data were corroborated by field work wherever possible through exploratory field trips to several locations along the Atlantic coast of Brazil. These results are preliminary, but they will hopefully provide the basic information need to consolidate conservation groups which have been striving for some time to save the last, fragile remnants of the forest where Pernambuco wood was found.