Delegates to the Cites conservation meeting in Thailand have agreed far-reaching restrictions on the trade in critically endangered hardwood trees. Extra protection was given to several species of rosewood and ebony that have been threatened by illegal logging.

It takes an ebony tree between 60 and 200 years to mature into a harvest-able commodity. Ebony trees reach a maximum height of about 30 feet with a diameter of about one foot.

Data deficient (Data inadequate to determine a threat category)

Essentially, all rosewood, regardless of where it comes from, is now regulated. That means that you need a permit to move it around internationally, which you have to apply and pay for.

Costs exceeding $17,000 per ton Rosewood grows in tropical regions of the world, and the name encompasses several dark-red hardwood species of tree.

You can grow a rosewood tree. The rosewood tree is considered tropical, growing best in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone 11, which includes areas that enjoy warm climates such as Hawaii.

In 2013, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) listed all types of Madagascar rosewood as Appendix II, prohibiting their trade except in the rare cases in which a local CITES authority has issued sustainability permits.

It takes about 5 years for the seedlings to reach a marketable height of 20 feet when they are sold or used to expand the plantation to 25 acres. Rosewood trees are planted closer together in a high-density plantation.

World Woods (You are here.)

It is expensive, not only for the color of the wood, but that it is a rare wood and hard to get, let alone process into useable pieces. It is also an “Old World” tree and therefore, unless you replant seedlings (which they do but it takes many years for the wood to be useable), it’s not sustainable and cash-efficient.

Color/Appearance: Heartwood of East Indian Rosewood can vary from a golden brown to a deep purplish brown, with darker brown streaks. The wood darkens with age, usually becoming a deep brown. Grain/Texture: Has a medium texture and fairly small pores. The grain is usually narrowly interlocked.

The grain pattern in rosewood is very unique. That would be a good indicator. Another option would be to look at done unpolished area and see the colour of the wood. Dip some nail polish remover in a piece of cotton and rub over the unpolished area.

The true rosewood species is sought after for its density and amazing red/dark red coloring. It has a tight grain and tends to be quite heavy but remains easy to work with if you know how to. Along with its beautiful coloring, rosewood also offers the additional quality of permeating the air with its rose-like scent.

To most, Brazilian has better clarity in the bottom and a almost bell like tone in the trebles. Indian rosewood has become the general substitute for Brazilian rosewood. Generally speaking, this wood is not as attractive as Brazilian and It has a noticeably purple color and the grain markings are coarser.

Today, Brazilian rosewood can only be obtained and used for guitars (or anything, really) if it was harvested and exported prior to the CITES ban, or harvested from trees that have fallen naturally – and is accompanied with a certificate of provenance in both cases.

Almost all Fender and Gibson instruments until 1965 are equipped with Brazilian rosewood fretboards, unless they have one-piece maple necks (Fender until mid-1959 ) or were equipped with fingerboard and bridge of ebony , such as the Gibson Les Paul Custom or Super 400.