Dalbergia odorifera

Dalbergia odorifera, fragrant rosewood or Chinese rosewood[3] (Chinese: 降香黄檀; pinyin: jiàngxiāng huángtán; lit. 'drooping fragrant dalbergia'), is a species of true rosewood in the genus Dalbergia. It is a small or medium-sized tree, 10–15 metres (33–49 ft) tall.[4] It is endemic to China and occurs in Fujian, Hainan, Zhejiang,[4] and Guangdong.[5]

Chinese dressing cabinet made from Huanghuali wood, Qing Dynasty (17th-18th century)

Dalbergia odorifera
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 2.3)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Faboideae
Genus:	Dalbergia
Species:	D. odorifera
Binomial name
Dalbergia odorifera T. Chen
Synonyms[2]
Dalbergia hainanensis misapplied

It is used as a wood product and in folk medicine.[3] This valuable wood is known in China as huali (花梨) or huanghuali (黄花梨).[5] Furniture from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties was made of this wood[5] and new furniture in the same styles are sought after as luxury and prestige items.[6]

Four compounds isolated from the root of this plant have been shown in a laboratory to have antioxidant properties.[7]

A deciduous tree, D. odorifera will start shedding leaves at around December of each year in the Northern Hemisphere. It becomes dormant throughout the winter months.

It was overexploited in the twentieth century and was classed as a vulnerable species in 1998.[1] This reached a level in the early twenty-first century where most trees of a size for commercial use had been cut down. As a consequence, other species of Dalbergia started to be exploited in its place.[6]