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Rosewood refers to a number of richly hued timbers, brownish with darker veining. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for flooring, furniture, turnery, musical instruments, and wooden chess sets (black pieces). In general, supplies are poor through overexploitation. Some species become canopy trees (to 30 m high), and big pieces can occasionally be found in the trade.

Species & Classification

Rosewood belongs to the family papilionaceae.

A Chinese Ming Dynasty compound wardrobe made of rosewood, latter half of the 16th century.

The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in the western world is Dalbergia nigra, Brazilian Rosewood (now a CITES-listed endangered species). It is also known 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 Dalbergia latifolia known as (East) Indian rosewood or sonokeling. Other rosewoods can be found in tropical America, Southeast Asia, and Madagascar. About a dozen species of the large genus Dalbergia, are recognized as rosewoods.

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 toolhandles, at best.

The timber trade will sell many timbers under the name 'rosewood' (with an adjective) due to similarities in figure. A fair number of these timbers come from other leguminous genera: one that is often mentioned is Machaerium scleroxylon.

In essential oil

Steam-distilled from the wood chips of the tree, rosewood oil is not widely used for therapeutic purposes, and little research into its medicinal value has been done. Its scent makes it popular as a fragrance and deodorant, and it is a favorite ingredient in many body and skin care products.

Rosewood essential oil is from Aniba rosaeodora, a tree from the Amazonian rainforest.

In musical instruments

Because of its density and strong resonance, Honduras rosewood, Dalbergia stevensonii is a favourite choice for makers of marimba and xylophone keys, although many such instruments are not made of this wood for reasons of cost or durability in outdoor playing environments. Brazilian rosewood is a popular wood for guitar fingerboards, and acoustic guitar backs and sides. However, due to its protected status and spiraling prices, Indian and Madagascar rosewood are being used extensively in its place. Rosewood is also used in limited quantities for clarinets; the various qualities of rosewood give the tone of a clarinet made of it a richer, darker sound than is generally obtained from traditional clarinets made of mpingo wood. Also, rosewood is occasionally used to make oboes, especially in chamber orchestras where less projection is needed (grenadilla has much more projection). Instruments from the violin family sometimes use rosewood for their tuning pegs, fingerboards, tailpieces, and chinrests.

In martial arts weapons

Because of its density and durability, rosewood is often used in Chinese martial arts weaponry, particularly as the shaft of spears and in Gun staves.