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Homepage > What to Avoid and Alternatives > Rainforest Wood > What to Avoid/What to Choose > By Tree Species > Tropical Woods > R > Rosewood
Rosewood (Dalbergia sp.)
Rosewoods should be avoided entirely unless they carry FSC certification and are not logged from old growth forests.
Rosewoods are beautiful trees occurring around the world, almost entirely in the tropics, mostly in the genus Dalbergia. Because of the beauty of the woods they produce, rosewoods have been overexploited wherever they occur.
Rosewoods are used for furniture, flooring, musical instruments, picture frames, pens and other craft items.
Conservation Status of Rosewoods*
Dalbergia abrahamii Rosewood (Madagascar); Endangered
Dalbergia bariensis Burmese rosewood (Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Thailand, Viet Nam); Endangered
Dalbergia cochinchinensis Thailand Rosewood, Tracwood (Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Thailand, Viet Nam); Vulnerable (Considered threatened in Viet Nam)
Dalbergia latifolia Bombay blackwood, Indian rosewood, Indonesian rosewood, Malabar rosewood, Palisandre de L'inde (India, Indonesia, Nepal) Vulnerable
Dalbergia mollis Rosewood, Palisandre (Madagascar) Lower Risk
Dalbergia nigra Bahia rosewood, Brazilian rosewood, Rio rosewood, jacarandá de Brasil (Brasil) Vulnerable
Dalbergia stevensonii Honduran Rosewood (Central America) This specie's conservation status has not been evaluated but cutting has reduced the tree considerably in the wild. It is likely that it would qualify for listing on the IUCN Red List.**
Dalbergia trichocarpa Rosewood (Madagascar) Lower Risk
Dalbergia xerophila Rosewood (Madagascar) Endangered
Pterocarpus indicus Amboyna Wood, Burmese rosewood, red sandalwood, santal rouge (Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Province of China, Thailand, Vanuatu, Viet Nam Vulnerable
This species has been extinct in Viet Nam for some 300 years and appears to be extinct in Malaysia. It is heavily exploited in its range.
There are numerous other species of tropical trees in the Dalbergia genus, but they are generally not referred to as rosewoods. These include ebony (African blackwood) (Dalbergia melanoxylon) (Lower Risk) and cocobolo (Dalbergia retusa) (Vulnerable).
*Information on species' conservation status from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
**Information from Global Trees Campaign.
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Copyright 2006 Rainforest Relief
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