Species matters, but so does availability. Lignum vitae is an endangered species, so it's not really a renewable alternative at the scale humanity requires.
fun fact, you can grow Lignum Vitae in SoCal in certain areas, not just in Florida. San Diego would probably grow lignum vitae well because it seems to like the random humid weeks in Los Angeles and just exists for the rest of the year
About a decade ago I ordered some from a nursery in florida, in retrospect I'm not sure that's an ideal thing to do. But I think I did order directly form the nursery so hopefully they were following the regulations, whereas amazon will freely help third parties sell completely illicit plant materials that could bring pests.
