Rosewood

Rosewood, commercial name for the wood of several tropical trees. Rosewood is characteristically reddish purple, often streaked with black, and is used in cabinetwork in making ornamental furniture, musical instruments, and handles. Most commercial rosewood is derived from trees of two genera of the legume family and one genus of the bignonia family. Brazilian rosewood and East Indian rosewood, or blackwood, are two types of rosewood. African rosewood and Amboina wood are important sources of rosewood in Eurasia but less important in the United States.

Scientific classification: Most commercial rosewood comes from the genera Dalbergia and Pterocarpus of the subfamily Papilionoideae, family Fabaceae (formerly Leguminosae), and from the genus Jacaranda of the family Bignoniaceae. Brazilian rosewood is classified as Dalbergia nigra, East Indian rosewood as Dalbergia latifolia, African rosewood as Pterocarpus erinaceous, and Amboina wood as Pterocarpus indicus.