Dalbergia latifolia
| Dalbergia latifolia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dalbergia latifolia growing as a street tree in Peravoor, India. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Genus: | Dalbergia |
| Species: | D. latifolia |
| Binomial name | |
| Dalbergia latifolia Roxb. | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Dalbergia latifolia (synonym Dalbergia emarginata) is a premier timber species, also known as the Indian Rosewood. It is native to low-elevation tropical monsoon forests of south east India.[2][3] Some common names in English include Rosewood, Bombay blackwood, Roseta rosewood, East Indian rosewood, Reddish-brown rosewood, Indian palisandre, and Java palisandre.[2][3] Its Indian common names are beete, and satisal.[2] The tree grows to 40 metres in height and is evergreen, but locally deciduous in drier subpopulations.[2][3]
Description and biology
The tree has grey bark that peels in long fibres, pinnately compound leaves, and bunches of small white flowers.[2] It grows as both an evergreen and a deciduous tree in the deciduous monsoon forests of India making the tree very drought hardy.
Haematonectria haematococca is a fungal pest of the tree, causing damage to the leaves and the heartwood in Javanese plantations.[4] In India, trees may be subject to serious damage from a species of Phytophthora, a water mold genus.[4]
Germplasm resources for D. latifolia are maintained by the Kerala Forest Research Institute in Thrissur, Kerala, India.[4]
Uses
The tree produces a hard, durable, heavy wood that, when properly cured, is durable and resistant to rot and insects.[4] It is grown as a plantation wood in both India and Java, often in dense, single species groves, to produce its highly desirable long straight bore.[4] Wood from the tree is used in premium furniture making and cabinetry, in guitar bodies, as furniture, exotic veneer, carvings, boats, skis, and for reforestation.[2][4]
Under the Indian Forest Act, 1927 the exportation of lumber products from wild harvested D. latifolia is illegal.[3] There exists an international high demand and price for the wood due to its excellent qualities of having a long straight bore, its strength, and its high density.[4] However, the tree is slow-growing; Javanese plantations were started in the late nineteenth century, but, due to its slow growth, plantations have not expanded beyond Java and India.[4] Many once popular uses for D. latifolia wood have now been replaced with Dalbergia sissoo wood and engineered rosewood's, for economic purposes in cottage industries.
See also
References
- ↑ The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species, retrieved 12 December 2015
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 World Agroforestry Centre, Agroforestry Tree Database, retrieved 2011-03-21
- 1 2 3 4 IUCN Redlist Dalbergia latifolia
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Louppe, D.; A A Oteng-Amoaka (2008). Plant resources of tropical Africa. Timbers 1 7(1) (PROTA Foundation). ISBN 978-90-5782-209-4. Retrieved 2011-03-21.