Rosewood refers to a number of richly hued timbers, brownish with darker veining. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for flooring, furniture, and turnery. In general, supplies are poor through overexploitation. Some species become canopy trees (to 30 m high), and big pieces can occasionally be found in the trade.

The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in the western world is Dalbergia nigra, Brazilian rosewood (now CITES-listed). It is also known as Rio rosewood or Bahia rosewood. This wood has a strong sweet smell, which persists over the years, explaining the name "rosewood".

Another classic rosewood is Dalbergia latifolia known as (East) Indian rosewood or sonokeling. Other rosewoods can be found in tropical America, Southeast Asia, and Madagascar. All the real rosewoods belong to the genus Dalbergia, but note that the reverse is not true: only a few (perhaps not much over a dozen) species of the genus are recognized as rosewoods.

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 Indian souvenir trade tries to sell objects made of Dalbergia sissoo (sometimes stained purple) as if they were rosewood. The wood of some other species is usable for toolhandles, at best.

The timber trade will sell many timbers under the name 'rosewood' (with an adjective) due to similarities in figure. A fair number of these timbers come from other leguminous genera: one that is often mentioned is Machaerium scleroxylon.

In essential oil

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Steam distilled from the wood chips of the tree, rosewood oil is not widely used for therapeutic purposes, and little research into its medicinal value has been done. Its scent makes it popular as a fragrance and deodorant, and it is a favorite ingredient in many body and skin care products.

Rosewood is grown primarily in southeast asia.

In musical instruments

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The keys of a marimba or xylophone should be made of a dense wood that resonates strongly: Honduras rosewood is a favourite wood for this purpose. Of course, most such instruments are not made of this wood. Brazilian rosewood is (was) a popular wood for guitar fingerboards, and acoustic guitar backs and sides. However, due to its protected status and spiraling prices, Indian and Madagascar rosewood are being used extensively in its place. Rosewood is also used in limited quantities for clarinets; the various qualities of rosewood gives the tone of a clarinet made of it a richer, darker sound than is generally obtained from traditional clarinets made of mpingo wood.

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