Dalbergia oliveri Seeds | Dalbergia Rosewood

Red-brown heartwood with black streaks on a planed face of Dalbergia rosewood — Dalbergia Rosewood (*Dalbergia oliveri*): Fabaceae, forests of Burma, Thailand and Laos.

LATIN NAME: Dalbergia oliveri

COMMON NAME: Dalbergia Rosewood

Plant Profile

Dalbergia oliveri is the rosewood of Burma and Thailand, and its heartwood is a deep, dull red-brown streaked with black, heavy enough to sink and scented when it is worked. The tree reaches twenty-five metres in open forest, with a rounded crown, pinnate leaves and small pale-pink flowers in loose sprays. It is deciduous in the dry season, and it is slow to replace itself, because the wood that makes it valuable is also what makes it worth cutting. The bark is grey and smooth on young trees, breaking into shallow plates with age. The crown is open enough to let grass grow beneath it, which is why it survives in grazed forest.

Science & Biotechnology

Dalbergia oliveri belongs to the Dalbergia rosewood group and has been the subject of timber forensics, since its wood is sold under a dozen trade names and mixed with Pterocarpus, the true padauks. The heartwood contains the neoflavonoid dalbergin and related compounds, and the aromatic oils are the basis of its scent. All Dalbergia species are on CITES Appendix II, and Thai and Burmese populations have been heavily logged, so provenance is now the central question in any legal trade. Plantation trials in Thailand show that the species grows well in mixture but makes heartwood slowly, which limits any quick return. The species is one of the parents of the hybrid traded as Burmese rosewood, and the two are separated by leaf and pod characters rather than by wood alone.

Uses & Benefits

The wood is used for high-end furniture, cabinetwork, decorative veneer, musical instruments and carving, and it is one of the species behind the antique trade in Burmese rosewood. The tree also yields fodder and a light honey, and it fixes nitrogen, which makes it useful in agroforestry and in restoring degraded dry forest. In the garden it is a fine shade tree for a large tropical property, with a good crown and a dry-season leaf drop that lets winter sun through. Wild stands should be left alone, and planted trees are the future of the wood. In Thailand the tree is planted along roads and in temple grounds, where its crown and its dry-season leaf drop are valued as much as its timber.

Growing from Seed

Scarify the seed, soak it for a day in warm water, and sow into a well-drained mix at twenty-five to thirty degrees. Germination is usually good within a month. The seedling needs full sun and a clear dry season to harden, and it should be planted out young because the taproot is long. Water through the first two dry seasons, then leave it to the monsoon. It is fast in youth and slow in middle age, and it resents shade and wet feet at every stage. Protect the young stem from browse, since goats and cattle find the bark sweet. It responds well to a deep mulch of leaf litter, which mimics the forest floor it evolved on.

Our Take

A rosewood with a scent and a paper trail, and a tree that is worth more standing than sawn. Grow it for shade and let the timber argument wait.

Tree Seeds