Rosewood
Encyclopedia
Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timber
s, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for guitar
s, marimba
s, turnery (billiard cues
, the black pieces in chess sets
, etc), handles, furniture
, luxury flooring
, etc.
In general, supplies are poor through overexploitation
. Some species become canopy trees (up to 30 m high), and large pieces can occasionally be found in the trade.
Dalbergia
. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in the western world is the wood of Dalbergia nigra
which is now a CITES
– listed endangered species. It is best known as Brazilian Rosewood, but also as "Rio Rosewood" or "Bahia Rosewood." This wood has a strong sweet smell, which persists over the years, explaining the name "rosewood".
Another classic rosewood is that yielded by Dalbergia latifolia
known as (East) Indian Rosewood or sonokeling. It can be found in tropical America
, Southeast Asia
, and Madagascar
.
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 Tulipwood
. The Indian souvenir trade tries to sell objects made of Dalbergia sissoo
(sometimes stained purple) as if they were rosewood. The wood of some other species is usable for tool handles at best.
An exception is the Australian Rose Mahogany (Dysoxylum fraserianum
), a highly regarded rainforest
tree in eastern Australia which is sometimes also called "Rosewood", although its wood bears no resemblance whatsoever to the true rosewoods.
's national parks. Logging was linked to criminal syndicates that laundered rosewood logs through Reunion
and Mauritius
before transporting timber to China
for processing. Finished wood and furniture was then shipped to Europe
and the United States
. In November 2009 Gibson Guitar Corporation
in Nashville
was raided by federal authorities for its alleged use of illegally sourced rosewood. The investigation is ongoing as of January 2010. In March 2010 the Malagasy government finally announced a ban of the rosewood export for a period between 2 and 5 years.
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
s, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, marimba
Marimba
The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
s, turnery (billiard cues
Cue stick
A cue stick , is an item of sporting equipment essential to the games of pool, snooker and carom billiards. It is used to strike a ball, usually the...
, the black pieces in chess sets
Chess piece
Chess pieces or chessmen are the pieces deployed on a chessboard to play the game of chess. The pieces vary in abilities, giving them different values in the game...
, etc), handles, furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
, luxury flooring
Wood flooring
Wood flooring is any product manufactured from timber that is designed for use as flooring, either structural or aesthetic. Bamboo flooring is often considered a wood floor, although it is made from a grass rather than a timber....
, etc.
In general, supplies are poor through overexploitation
Overexploitation
Overexploitation, also called overharvesting, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Sustained overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource...
. Some species become canopy trees (up to 30 m high), and large pieces can occasionally be found in the trade.
True rosewoods
All genuine rosewoods belong to the genusGenus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Dalbergia
Dalbergia
Dalbergia is a large genus of small to medium-size trees, shrubs and lianas in the pea family, Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. The genus has a wide distribution, native to the tropical regions of Central and South America, Africa, Madagascar and southern Asia...
. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in the western world is the wood of Dalbergia nigra
Dalbergia nigra
Dalbergia nigra, commonly known as the Bahia Rosewood, Jacarandá da Bahia, Brazilian Rosewood, Rio Rosewood, Jacarandá De Brasil, Pianowood, Caviuna, or Obuina, is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family....
which is now a CITES
Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna
CITES is a multilateral treaty, drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature...
– listed endangered species. It is best known as Brazilian Rosewood, but also as "Rio Rosewood" or "Bahia Rosewood." This wood has a strong sweet smell, which persists over the years, explaining the name "rosewood".
Another classic rosewood is that yielded by Dalbergia latifolia
Dalbergia latifolia
Dalbergia latifolia is an economically important timber species native to low elevation tropical monsoon forests of eastern India...
known as (East) Indian Rosewood or sonokeling. It can be found in tropical America
Neotropic
In biogeography, the Neotropic or Neotropical zone is one of the eight terrestrial ecozones. This ecozone includes South and Central America, the Mexican lowlands, the Caribbean islands, and southern Florida, because these regions share a large number of plant and animal groups.It is sometimes used...
, Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, and Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
.
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
African Blackwood
Dalbergia melanoxylon is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to seasonally dry regions of Africa from Senegal east to Eritrea and south to the Transvaal in South Africa....
, Cocobolo
Cocobolo
Cocobolo is a tropical hardwood of the tree Dalbergia retusa from Central America.Only the heartwood is used: this is typically orange or reddish-brown in color, often with a figuring of darker irregular traces weaving through the wood. The sapwood is a creamy yellow, with a sharp boundary with...
, Kingwood
Kingwood (wood)
Kingwood is a classic furniture wood, almost exclusively used for inlays on very fine furniture. Occasionally it is used in the solid for small items and turned work, including parts of billiard cues, e.g., those made by John Parris. It is brownish-purple with many fine darker stripes and...
, and Tulipwood
Tulipwood
Most commonly, tulipwood is the pinkish yellowish wood yielded from the tuliptree, found on the Eastern side of North America and also 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. In fact,...
. The Indian souvenir trade tries to sell objects made of Dalbergia sissoo
Dalbergia sissoo
Dalbergia sissoo, known as Shisham, is an erect deciduous tree, native to the Indian Subcontinent. It is also called sissoo, sisu, sheesham, tahli and sometimes referred to as Indian Rosewood. It is state tree of Punjab state and provincial tree of Punjab province...
(sometimes stained purple) as if they were rosewood. The wood of some other species is usable for tool handles at best.
Other "rosewoods"
The timber trade will sell 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 Machaerium scleroxylon. Another that may be found in advertisements from Asia is Pterocarpus indicus (and related species).An exception is the Australian Rose Mahogany (Dysoxylum fraserianum
Dysoxylum fraserianum
Dysoxylum fraserianum is a large tree species native to NSW and Queensland, Australia....
), a highly regarded rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
tree in eastern Australia which is sometimes also called "Rosewood", although its wood bears no resemblance whatsoever to the true rosewoods.
Madagascar rosewood logging controversy
In 2009 controversy arose surrounding the intensification of rosewood logging in MadagascarMadagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
's national parks. Logging was linked to criminal syndicates that laundered rosewood logs through Reunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
and Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
before transporting timber to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
for processing. Finished wood and furniture was then shipped to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In November 2009 Gibson Guitar Corporation
Gibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
was raided by federal authorities for its alleged use of illegally sourced rosewood. The investigation is ongoing as of January 2010. In March 2010 the Malagasy government finally announced a ban of the rosewood export for a period between 2 and 5 years.