Brazilian Rosewood

Family: Fabaceae - Order: Fabales - Class: Magnoliopsida
Scientific name: Dalbergia nigra

Trade name: Brazilian rosewood, Rio Jacarandá, Brasilianisches Rosenholz (DE); palissandre Brésil, palissandre Rio.

Also known as Bahia rosewood, jacarandá-da-baía, Brazilian rosewood, Rio rosewood, jacarandá-do-brasil, pianowood, caviúna or graúna.

Origin: Brazil and occasionally on Tropical South América

Instrumental uses:
Guitar back and sides, Fingerboards, head plates, bridges, bindings, peg heads, inlays, woodwinds, stringed instruments, piano and several other instruments parts.

Tonal properties:

Very responsive, highly dynamic, very good separation of notes, It produces full, deep basses and brilliant trebles.

Brazilian rosewood is extremely expensive and is usually used on special limited edition instruments.

Relatively easy to work, it bends and finishes well.

Average dried weight 52 lbs/ft³ (835 kg/m³)

Frequently encountered mainly in degraded forests and fields.

Grows in Bahia, Espirito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo in Atlantic rain forests.

It is a medium to large tree, 15 to 25 meters high.

From dark brown, black to violet and dark red sometimes with darker contrasting stripes, lighter yellowish sapwood that is clearly demarcated from the heartwood.

In the Brazilian Rosewood, Dalbergia nigra type, there are two big kinds and another two smaller types completing four types overall:

1st - Imperial Jacaranda - dark type - high and dense forest, alkaline and stony soil. Basic color dark orange, chocolate brown to violet, with thin lines almost black. It does not darken over time. The top choice.

2nd -Colonial Jacaranda - Medium forest, alkaline and deep soil. Varied basic color, wide lines or darker fringes. Over time it becomes very dark, almost black.

3rd- Jacaranda Piaui - Low, dry and open forest, alkaline soil. Basic reddish brown color with darker lines evenly distributed. Darkens to a warm brown color.

4th- Jacaranda grassland - light type. Growth isolated in the field, acid soil, light color or dark drawing. Sometimes called cerrado jacaranda.

CITES status is protected under the Appendix I. Is reported on the IUCN Red List as vulnerable.