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Seems like there is a large number of woods that can be described as Rosewood but I would imagine they could not call it Rosewood unless it was.
All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus Dalbergia. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in the Western world is the wood of Dalbergia nigra which is now a CITES-listed endangered species. It is best known as Brazilian Rosewood, but also as Bahia rosewood. This wood has a strong sweet smell, which persists for many years, explaining the name rosewood.
Another classic rosewood comes from Dalbergia latifolia known as (East) Indian rosewood or sonokeling (Indonesia). It is native to India and is also grown in plantations elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
Madagascar rosewood (Dalbergia maritima), known as bois de rose, is highly prized for its red color but is overexploited in the wild. Despite a 2010 moratorium on trade, illegal logging continues on a large scale.[2]
Throughout S.E. Asia Dalbergia oliveri is harvested for use in woodworking. It has a very fragrant and dense grain near the core, however the outer sapwood is soft and porous. Dalbergia cultrata[3] that has variegated burgundy to light brown color, a blackwood timber is sold as Burmese Rosewood. Products built with rosewood based engineered woods are sold as Malaysian Rosewood or as Dalbergia oliveri.
Some rosewood comes from Dalbergia retusa, also known as the Nicaraguan rosewood or as palisander. Several species are known as Guatemalan rosewood or Panama rosewood: D. tucerencis, D. tucarensis, and D. cubiquitzensis.[4][5]
Not all species in the large genus Dalbergia yield rosewoods; only about a dozen species do. The woods of some other species in the genus Dalbergia are notable—even famous—woods in their own right: African blackwood, cocobolo, kingwood, and tulipwood. The woods of some other species are usable for tool handles at best.[citation needed]
Other rosewoods
The timber trade will sell many timbers under the name rosewood (usually with an adjective) due to some (outward) similarities. A fair number of these timbers come from other legume genera; one such species that is often mentioned is Bolivian Machaerium scleroxylon sold as Bolivian rosewood. An another that may be found in market from Southeast Asia is Pterocarpus indicus sold as New Guinea rosewood (and related species). Dalbergia sissoo is timber from rosewood species from India and Bangladesh. Usually known as Sheesham or North-Indian Rosewood. It is extremely dense and has mild rot resistance. But it is porous and its exterior is soft and susceptible to wood boring insects. It is used for making cabinets, flooring and carving. It is exported as quality veneers. Due to its after work quality when sealed and dyed, it is often sold as genuine rosewood or as teak. It has no discernible qualities of a genuine rosewood. It has comparable strength with teak, but lower quality than that of teak or Dalbergia latifolia. Hence the price is lower than that of a teak and more economical than that of Dalbergia latifolia.[citation needed]
Although its wood bears no resemblance whatsoever to the true rosewoods, the Australian rose mahogany (Dysoxylum fraserianum, family Meliaceae) and Australian Blackwood, (Acacia melanoxylon) is also sold as rosewood. Australian rose mahogany due to the strong smell of roses from freshly cut bark is more mistakenly called as a "rosewood".[6]
Kindest regards
Barrel
