Pernambuco or Pau-Brazil, Caesalpinia echinata, is a slow-growing, medium sized tree of the Leguminosae family. Its distribution corresponds essentially to that of the Mata Atlantica or Brazilian Atlantic forest.

The growth rate of Pau-Brazil depends on several factors such as the composition of the soil, the climate or the geogra-phical location.

While the sapwood predominates in young trees, the yellow or redbrown heartwood, i.e. the part suitable for bowmaking, only becomes dominant after twenty years.

A reforestation programme in the state of Pernambuco has shown that thirty-year old trees already produce wood suitable for bowmaking.

The trunk of the Caesalpinia echinata is covered with thorns