Rosewood
2703758
223701012
2008-07-05T09:52:37Z
DorganBot
2844817
robot Modifying: [[hu:Paliszanderek]]
:''This article is about rosewood [[timber]]. For other uses, see [[Rosewood (disambiguation)]].''
[[Image:parris-cue-rosewood.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[John Parris]] rosewood snooker cue]]
[[Image:Ming Dynasty Wardrobe.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A [[China|Chinese]] [[Ming Dynasty]] compound [[wardrobe]] made of rosewood, latter half of the 16th century.]]
'''Rosewood''' refers to a number of richly hued [[timber]]s, often brownish with darker veining but found in many different colors. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for [[Parquetry|flooring]], [[furniture]], [[Woodturning|turnery]], [[musical instrument]]s, [[John Parris|billiard cues]], and [[chess piece|chess sets]] (the 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 and classification==
Most "rosewoods" belong to the family [[Fabaceae]].
The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in the western world is, or was, ''Dalbergia nigra'', '''[[Brazilian Rosewood]]''' (now a [[Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna|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''. About a dozen species of the large genus ''[[Dalbergia]]'' are commonly called rosewoods. They can be found in [[neotropic|tropical America]], [[Southeast Asia]], and [[Madagascar]]. The woods of some other species in the genus ''Dalbergia'' are notable, even famous, woods in their own right: [[African Blackwood]], [[cocobolo]], [[Kingwood (wood)|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 outward similarity. A fair number of these timbers come from other legume genera, mainly [[Dalbergieae]]; one such species that is often mentioned is ''[[Machaerium scleroxylon]]''.
[[Peruvian Rosewood]] is from ''[[Ocotea cernua]]'' which is in the [[Lauraceae]] and thus a rather unrelated tree to other "rosewoods" of the timber trade.
[[category:wood]]
[[category:trees]]
[[cs:Palisandr]]
[[de:Palisander]]
[[fr:Palissandre]]
[[it:Palissandro]]
[[kn:ಬೀಟೆ]]
[[hu:Paliszanderek]]
[[ml:വീട്ടി]]
[[nl:Palissander]]
[[no:Rosentre]]
[[pl:Palisander]]
[[ru:Палисандр]]