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Indian rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia)

Dlium Indian rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia)

Sonokeling or Indian rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia) is a species of plant in the Fabaceae, a large tree producing hardwood, medium weight and high quality, rounded leaves, thin and broad pods, highly adaptive, grows in dry and rocky landscapes with lots of sunlight.

D. latifolia has medium to large size, cylindrical stems, up to 40 m high with a ring of up to 2 m, the bark is brownish gray and slightly cracked longitudinally. The crown is dense, dome-shaped and sheds leaves.













The leaves are compound and pinnate oddly with 5-7 strands that have different sizes and appear alternately on the shaft. The leaves are round or elongated in width or heart, the upper surface is green and the surface is pale green.

The flowers are small, 0.5-1 cm long and clustered in panicles. The pods are green to brown when ripe and are elongated lanceolate, pointed at the base and tip. The pods have 1-4 seeds which are soft and brownish.

This tree grows at elevations below 600 m, rainfall of 750-5000 mm/year mainly on rocky, infertile and dry soils periodically. Grows in groups in seasonal forests that drop their leaves during the dry season.

A medium to heavy hardwood. The specific gravity is 0.77-0.86 at about 15% moisture content. Smooth texture with straight grain direction and sometimes wavy. This wood is also durable, resistant to termites and putrefactive fungi.

The wood has beautiful patterns with purple streaks of black or purplish black streaked with reddish brown. The heartwood is brown to dark violet with very dark brown to black streaks. The sapwood is whitish to yellowish and 3-5 cm thick.

This wood is commonly used to make furniture, cupboards and various high-class home furnishings. This wood is often used to make carved and sculptural items, turning items, musical and sporting instruments, bent wooden furniture such as umbrella handles and walking sticks.

Wood is very strong and durable, seeing it is used in construction for frames, doors, windows and making railroad cars. Strength is also used for ax handles, hammers, plows, harrows and rollers. Sonokeling is also used in the manufacture of parquet floors.

The wood can be planed for a smooth surface and can also be peeled and sliced to make decorative veneers. It can also be turned, screwed and finished with excellent results.

The leaves are used for animal feed and green manure. Roots are nitrogen fixing and thus can improve soil fertility.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Tribe: Dalbergieae
Genus: Dalbergia L.f. in Suppl. Pl.: 52 (1782)
Species: Dalbergia latifolia Roxb. in Pl. Coromandel 2: 7 (1799)

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Amerimnon latifolium (Roxb.) Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 159 (1891)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Amerimnon javanicum (Miq.) Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 159 (1891)
Dalbergia emarginata Roxb. in Fl. Ind., ed. 1832. 3: 224 (1832)
Dalbergia javanica Miq. in Fl. Ned. Ind. 1(1): 132 (1855)

PUBLICATIONS

Aung, Y.L., Aung, M.H., Tan, Y. & Jin, X. (2025). An updated checklist of vascular plants of Myanmar. PhytoKeys 261: 135-364.

Govaerts, R. (2000). World Checklist of Seed Plants Database in ACCESS Genera starting with letter D: 1-30141.

Kotiya, A., Solanki, Y. & Reddy, G.V. (2020). Flora of Rajasthan: 1-769. Rajasthan state biodiversity board.

Kumar, S. & Sane, P.V. (2003). Legumes of South Asia. A Checklist: 1-536. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Lepschi, B. & Monro, A. (Project Coordinators) (2014). Australian Plant Census (APC) Council of Heads of Australian Herbaria.

Lock, J.M. & Ford, C.S. (2004). Legumes of Malesia a Check-List: 1-295. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Lock, J.M. (1989). Legumes of Africa a check-List: 1-619. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Meena, S.L. (2012). A checklist of the vascular plants of Banaskantha district, Gujarat, India. Nelumbo 54: 39-91.

Pandey, R.P. & Dilwakar, P.G. (2008). An integrated check-list flora of Andaman and Nicobar islands, India. Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany 32: 403-500.

Zhu, X.Y., Zhang, R.P. & He, Y.L. (eds.) (2021). An inventory of legume species diversity of Myanmar: 1-297. China Minzu university press.

VERNACULAR NAME

Bengali: শিশম Śiśama
Chinese (simplified): 阔叶黄檀
Chinese (traditional): 廣葉黃檀
English: Indian rosewood, Bombay rosewood, Black rosewood, Blackwood tree, Bombay blackwood, East Indian rosewood, Indian blackwood, Indian palisandre, Indian rosewood, Java palisandre, Malabar rosewood, Roseta rosewood
Hindi: शीशम - काला-शीशम - विलायती शीशम - सीतसाल - पहाड़ी-शीशसू Shisham, Kala-shisham, Vilayati shisham, Sitsal, Pahari-sissoo
Indonesian: Sonokeling
Java: Sonokeling, Sonobrit, Sonosungu
Kannada: Beete, Beete mara, Ibadi, Ibati, Ibbeede, Karevyaadi
Konkani: Siso
Malayalam: Itti, Iitti, Karivittti, Viitti, Cholaveetti, Eeti, Kariveeti, Veeti
Marathi: Kalarukh, Sisau, Biti, Sissu
Nepali: सन्तोषजनक Satisal
Oria: Gaisisu, Sisua, Sissoo, Jadimari
Sanskrit: Shinshapa
Sinhala: නුක්කම් Nukkam
Tamil: நுக்கம் - தொட்டகட்டி - தோதாகத்தி - தாவடி - எரிவாடி - ஈட்டி - கருந்தோர்வியரல் Nukkam, Totakatti, Thodagatthi, Tawadi, Erivadi, Eetti, Karundorviaral
Telugu: Yruguducettu, Jitegi, Gitegi, Zitregi, Yerrapatsaru, Cittegi, Irugudu

Aryo Bandoro
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