Dalbergia oliveri is a species of legume in the Fabaceae

Fabaceae

The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...

 family which grows in tree form to 15 - 30 meters in height. The fruit is a green pod containing one to two seed which turns brown to black when ripe. It is found in Myanmar

Myanmar

Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....

, Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, Laos

Laos

Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...

, Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

, and Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

. The Cambodian name is "Neang Nuon", the Thai name is "Tamalan", the Lao name is "Mai Kham Phii" and the Vietnamese name is "cẩm lai" or "trắc lai". It is threatened by habitat loss and over-harvesting for its valuable red lumber.

Uses

The wood of this rosewood-family tree is valuable for ornamental work including Woodturning

Woodturning

Woodturning is a form of woodworking that is used to create wooden objects on a lathe . Woodturning differs from most other forms of woodworking in that the wood is moving while a stationary tool is used to cut and shape it...

and furniture. The sapwood is yellowish-white with dark brown heartwood. The heartwood is very hard and heavy. The lumber is sold under the names Burmese Rosewood, Laos Rosewood, Asian Rosewood.

Source

• Nghia, N.H. 1998. Dalbergia oliveri. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 19 July 2007.