BOTANICAL NAME: Dalbergia frutescens (I have also seen reports saying Dalbergia variabilis and Dalbergia decipularis, but these seem to be mistaken)

NOTE: Tulipwood's name is occasionally confused with the North American tulip tree (liriodendron tulipfera), better known as yellow poplar, but the two have nothing in common.

Tulipwood is a true rosewood

COMMON NAMES: bois de rose, Brazilian tulipwood, jacaranda rosa, pau de fuso, pau rosa, pinkwood

TYPE: hardwood

COLOR: Heartwood is cream colored to salmon colored but dominated by stipes of red, violet, purple and rose --- generally the red streaking dominates. The sapwood is yellow to yellowish white. Heartwood color fades with age. This is a strikingly beautiful wood.

GRAIN: straight to wavy or roey. One report says interlocked but that absolutely has not been my experience.

TEXTURE: most reports say moderately fine; my own experience is that it is moderate to very fine

PROPERTIES / WORKABILITY: most reports agree that it is very hard, heavy and strong, difficult to work with and causes severe blunting of cutting edges. Boring for nails and screws is necessary; splinters easily. glues easily. Low shock resistance and stiffness. My own experience is only in turning, but it turns very easily, although it tends to be full of small cracks (and sometimes large ones --- heartwood flaws are widely commented on).

DURABILITY: the sapwood is not as durable as the heartwood.

FINISH: polishes to a beautiful natural luster

STABILITY: stable in service

BENDING: very low bending strength

ODOR: distinct --- a fragrant scent reminiscent of flowers when the wood is cut

SOURCES: all reports agree on northeastern Brazil as the primary source, some also say Central and Latin America; Brazil, Colombia, Guyana and Venezuela

USES: this wood was a favorite in French furniture in the Empire period but because of the small size and very high cost it is generally found today only in inlays, marquetry, turnery, and other small decorative fancy goods.

TREE: grows 20' to 35' high and less than 16" in diameter and the growth is slow, with trees taking as much as centuries to mature even though they are quite small.

WEIGHT: moderate to heavy

DRYING: no reports found but the heartwood checking that is widely reported on leads me to believe that drying presents problems.

AVAILABILITY: very scarce

COST: very expensive --- expect to pay upwards of $50 per board foot and $80 to $100 would not be unusual.