Africa Wild

Wow, how did I do that

Could it be the hardest wood?

One of the hardest

But you are close!

Most expensive?

Most longevity?

I think that ebony is darker

Dalbergia melanoxylon is the most expensive wood
Price: $100 per board foot
A log can cost approximately $9,000; the price for processed timber in 2016 was listed as $13,000 per cubic square meter. It is commonly priced at a minimum of $100 per board foot.

Typically a small tree found commonly only south of the Sahara Desert in Africa, this extremely slow-growing tree has a heartwood that is dense, fine-grained, and melodious. It is heavy and hard, prized for its deep purple, nearly black color, and is used primarily for art pieces and musical instruments, both woodwinds and small stringed instruments. It is an oily wood and does not allow rust to form on tools.

Historically used for the handles of early European medical instruments, the wood was widely exported from British, French and German colonies in Africa, and also used for furniture inlays and turnery. The tree itself grows to only about 50 feet in height, is oddly shaped, and is not fully mature until it’s about 200 years old. Most trees are harvested today at an age of 70 to 80 years, with an extensive replanting program in place to assure future supply.

This makes it the most expensive wood in the world.

To be considered the original ebony, African Blackwood was imported and used in Ancient Egypt thousands of years ago. Even the name “ebony” has an Egyptian derivation as “hbny”—which has been shown to refer to primarily to Dalbergia melanoxylon, rather than the species which are considered to be ebony today: such as those in the Diospyros genus. In addition, African blackwood is technically in the Rosewood genus (Dalbergia), and is more stable and resistant to movement and warping than other types of ebony.

In SA the tree is called Zebrawood.
https://africawild-forum.com/viewtopic. ... 94#p230594

It is ebony

It is also the most poached....obviously

Dalbergia melanoxylon was recently CITEs listed in Appendix II in January 2017.

Still highly sought after for musical instruments and intricate wood carvings; the majority of trade is now destined for the Chinese Hongmu furniture industry.
Wide ranging across Africa, but highly exploited, the species has experienced declines across its range, particularly in larger trees. Categorised as Lower Risk/near threatened globally in 1998 (IUCN). It was reported that the species was principally only viable for commercial extraction in southeast Tanzania and northern Mozambique.



Many species of Dalbergia are under a range of threats, including deforestation, forest conversion for agriculture and human development, and legal and illegal logging to supply domestic and international markets. The IUCN has carried out 86 species assessments, 57 of which place species within the Vulnerable to Critically Endangered categories. Trade in Dalbergia species is reported to be widespread throughout their range, resulting in over-exploitation of many species and depletions of stocks. Some Dalbergia species are considered to be ‘precious woods’ and command high prices, particularly in the Chinese Hongmu furniture trade.
Harvest of different species of Dalbergia and similar timbers also known as rosewood appears to follow a distinctive pattern in which as the most favoured and accessible timber stocks in a particular area are depleted, attention turns to others. There is generally very little quantitative information on the impact of logging on populations of Dalbergia species and knowledge of the status of many of themis very limited and often out-of-date.

There is little information available about the illegal harvesting in Southern Africa. In SA obviously not a problem, but in Namibia and Mozambique.

https://adf-magazine.com/2020/03/stripp ... s-forests/

The result must also be that the trees are never left growing properly, but cut too early and thus leaving fewer seeds for future generations of trees.

How fascinating!

Which record does this butterfly species hold?