Rosewood is any of a number of richly hued hardwoods, often brownish with darker veining, but found in other colours. [1] It is hard, tough, strong, and dense. True rosewoods come from trees of the genus Dalbergia , but other woods are often called rosewood. Rosewood takes a high polish and is used for luxury furniture-making, flooring, musical instruments, and turnery.
Genuine rosewoods belong to the genus Dalbergia . The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in the Western world is the wood of Dalbergia nigra . [2] It is best known as "Brazilian rosewood", [3] but also as "Bahia rosewood". This wood has a strong, sweet smell, which persists for many years, explaining the name rosewood. [4] Another classic rosewood comes from Dalbergia latifolia , known as (East) Indian rosewood or sonokeling (Indonesia). It is native to India and is also grown in plantations elsewhere in Pakistan (Chiniot).
Madagascar rosewood ( Dalbergia maritima ), known as bois de rose, is highly prized for its red color. It is overexploited in the wild, despite a 2010 moratorium on trade and illegal logging, which continues on a large scale. [5]
Throughout southeast Asia, Dalbergia oliveri is harvested for use in woodworking. It has a very fragrant and dense grain near the core, but the outer sapwood is soft and porous. Dalbergia cultrata, [6] variegated burgundy to light brown in color, is a blackwood timber sold as Burmese rosewood. Products built with rosewood-based engineered woods are sold as 'Malaysian rosewood' or as D. oliveri.[ citation needed ]
Some rosewood comes from Dalbergia retusa , also known as 'Nicaraguan rosewood' or as cocobolo. [7] Several species are known as Guatemalan rosewood or Panama rosewood: D. tucerencis, D. tucarensis, and D. cubiquitzensis. [8] [9] Honduran rosewood, D. stevensonii [10] is used for marimba keys, guitar parts, clarinets and other musical and ornamental applications. [11]
Not all species in the large genus Dalbergia yield rosewoods; only about a dozen species do. The woods of some other species in the genus Dalbergia are notable—even famous—woods in their own right: African blackwood, cocobolo , kingwood, and Brazilian tulipwood.
Some species become canopy trees (up to 30 m high), [12] and large pieces can occasionally be found in the trade.[ citation needed ]
The timber trade sells many timbers under the name 'rosewood' (usually with an adjective) due to some (outward) similarities. A fair number of these timbers come from other legume genera; one such species that is often mentioned is Bolivian Machaerium scleroxylon sold as 'Bolivian rosewood'. Another that may be found in market from Southeast Asia is Pterocarpus indicus , sold as 'New Guinea rosewood' (and related species). Dalbergia sissoo is a rosewood species from India and Bangladesh, usually known as sheesham or North-Indian rosewood. Its timber is extremely dense and has mild rot resistance but is porous, and its exterior is soft and susceptible to wood-boring insects. It is used for making cabinets and flooring, and for carving. It is exported as quality veneers. Due to its after-work quality when sealed and dyed, it is often sold as genuine rosewood or as teak. It has no discernible qualities of a genuine rosewood. Its strength is comparable with teak, but it has lower quality and price than teak or Dalbergia latifolia .[ citation needed ]
Although its wood bears no resemblance whatsoever to the true rosewoods, the Australian rose mahogany ( Didymocheton fraserianus , family Meliaceae) and Australian blackwood, ( Acacia melanoxylon ) are also sold as rosewood. Acacia excelsa is also commonly known as ironwood or rosewood. [13] Australian rose mahogany, due to the strong smell of roses from freshly cut bark, is more mistakenly termed a "rosewood". [14]
All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for guitars (the fretboards on electric and acoustic guitars often being made of rosewood), marimbas, recorders, turnery (billiard cues, fountain pens, black pieces in chess sets, etc.), handles, furniture, and luxury flooring, etc.
Rosewood oil, used in perfume, is extracted from the wood of Aniba rosaeodora , which is not related to the rosewoods used for lumber. Rosewood is also used for bracelets and necklaces.
The dust created from sanding rosewood is known to be a sensitizing irritant and can trigger asthma and other respiratory ailments. Continual or heightened exposure can increase sensitivity. [15]
In general, world stocks are poor through overexploitation. [16] Rosewood is now protected worldwide. At a summit of the international wildlife trade in South Africa, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) moved to protect the world's most trafficked wild product by placing all 300 species of the rosewood tree under trade restrictions. [17] At CITES meetings in 2013, 2016, and 2019, additional rosewood species were listed for protection, triggering market booms in China. [18] [19]
From Dalbergia species:
Other than Dalbergia species
Dalbergia is a large genus of small to medium-size trees, shrubs and lianas in the pea family, Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. It was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic Dalbergia clade : the Dalbergieae. The genus has a wide distribution, native to the tropical regions of Central and South America, Africa, Madagascar and Southern Asia.
Cocobolo is a tropical hardwood of Central American trees belonging to the genus Dalbergia. Only the heartwood of cocobolo is used; it is usually orange or reddish-brown, often with darker irregular traces weaving through the wood. The heartwood changes color after being cut and can be polished to a lustrous, glassy finish. Being quite dense and sometimes having a specific gravity of over 1.0, it will sink in water. The sapwood is a creamy yellow with a sharp boundary between it and the heartwood.
Ironwood is a common name for many woods that have a reputation for hardness, or specifically a wood density that is denser than water, although usage of the name ironwood in English may or may not indicate a tree that yields such heavy wood.
Dalbergia melanoxylon in french Granadille d'Afrique is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to seasonally dry regions of Africa from Senegal east to Eritrea, to southern regions of Tanzania to Mozambique and south to the north-eastern parts of South Africa. The tree is an important timber species in its native areas; it is used in the manufacture of musical instruments, sculptures vinyago in Swahili language and fine furnitures. Populations and genomic resources for genetic biodiversity maintenance in parts of its native range are threatened by overharvesting due to poor or absent conservation planning and by the species' low germination rates.
Guibourtia is a flowering plant genus in the family Fabaceae, also known by the common names as Rhodesian copalwood, African Rosewood, amazique, bubinga, kevazingo, and ovangkol.
Most commonly, tulipwood is the greenish yellowish wood yielded from the tulip tree, found on the Eastern side of North America and a similar species is found in some parts of China. In the United States, it is commonly known as tulip poplar or yellow poplar, even though the tree is not related to the poplars. It is notable for its height, which can exceed 190 feet. The wood is very light, around 490 kg per cubic meter, but very strong and is used in many applications, including furniture, joinery and moldings. It can also be stained very easily and is often used as a low-cost alternative to walnut and cherry in furniture and doors.
Kingwood is a classic furniture wood, almost exclusively used for inlays on very fine furniture. It was the most expensive wood in general use for furniture making in the seventeenth century, at which time it was known as princes wood. It is brownish-purple with many fine darker stripes and occasional irregular swirls. Occasionally it contains pale streaks of a similar colour to the sapwood, as in the picture.
Rosewood oil is a valuable essential oil, especially in perfumery. It contains the substance linalool, which has a number of uses.
Na ʻĀina Kai Botanical Gardens are nonprofit botanical gardens located at 4101 Wailapa Road, Kīlauea, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi. A variety of guided tours are offered Tuesday through Friday; an admission fee is charged for each.
Pterocarpus santalinus, with the common names red sanders, red saunders, Yerra Chandanam, Chenchandanam, red sandalwood, Rakta Chandana, and rakto chandon, is a species of Pterocarpus endemic to the southern Eastern Ghats mountain range of South India. This tree is valued for the rich red colour of its wood, and in recent years there has been a marked uptick in the use of red sandalwood as a component of incense, especially in the west. The tree is not to be confused with the aromatic Santalum sandalwood trees that grow natively in Southern India.
Dalbergia sissoo, known commonly as North Indian rosewood or shisham, is a fast-growing, hardy, deciduous rosewood tree native to the Indian subcontinent and southern Iran. D. sissoo is a large, crooked tree with long, leathery leaves and whitish or pink flowers.
Dalbergia nigra, commonly known as the Bahia rosewood, jacarandá-da-Bahia, Brazilian rosewood, Rio rosewood, jacarandá-do-brasil, pianowood, caviúna, graúna, jacarandá-una or obuina is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae.
Aniba rosaeodora, also known as pau-rosa, is a species of Magnoliid tree in the family Lauraceae. Often confused as rosewood, the plant doesn't grow on any tree of the genus Dalbergia. It grows in parts of the tropical rainforest of South America. It is an endangered species that is exploited due to its essential oil.
Didymocheton fraserianus, commonly known as rosewood or rose mahogany, is a medium-sized to large tree native to New South Wales and Queensland. It is widely used with the purpose of street design and to provide shade in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. Rosewood ranges from the rainforest around eastern Australia from Bundaberg in Queensland to Wyong in New South Wales. At maturity, it can reach a height of 57 metres (200 ft). It is generally known for its strong scent of rose from its bark.
Dalbergia retusa is a plant species in the genus Dalbergia found in Pacific regions of Central America, ranging from Panama to southwestern Mexico. It produces the cocobolo wood. It is a fair-sized tree, reported to reach 20–25 m in height. This is probably the species contributing most of the wood in the trade. Because of the wood's great beauty and high value, the trees yielding this wood have been heavily exploited and are now rare outside national parks, reserves, and plantations.
Blackwood may refer to:
Dalbergia latifolia is a premier timber species, also known as the Indian rosewood. It is native to low-elevation tropical monsoon forests of south east India. Some common names in English include rosewood, Bombay blackwood, roseta rosewood, East Indian rosewood, reddish-brown rosewood, Indian palisandre, and Java palisandre. Its Indian common names are beete, and satisal or sitsal. The tree grows to 40 metres (130 ft) in height and is evergreen, but locally deciduous in drier subpopulations.
Dalbergia stevensonii, also called Honduras rosewood, is a Central American tree species in the legume family. It grows in broadleaf evergreen swamp forests in southern Belize and adjacent Guatemala and Mexico. The wood is highly valuable, which has led to population loss from illegal logging.
Machaerium scleroxylon is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae Common names for the species include: pau ferro, morado, caviuna, Bolivian rosewood, and Santos rosewood. The wood is used as an alternative species to genuine rosewoods belonging to the genus Dalbergia.
Media related to Rosewood at Wikimedia Commons
