Dalbergia oliveri
Dalbergia oliveri is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae which grows in tree form to 15 – 30 meters in height. The fruit is a green pod containing one to two seeds which turn brown to black when ripe. It is threatened by habitat loss and over-harvesting for its valuable red "rosewood" timber.
University of Oxford published the transcriptomes of Dalbergia oliveri and five other Dalbergia spp. It was found that D. oliveri had more R genes than the co-occurring Dalbergia cochinchinensis.
Distribution naming and synonyms
The trees are found in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Common names in S.E. Asia are: Cambodian: "Neang Nuon", Thai: "Mai Ching Chan", Laos: "Mai Kham Phii", Myanmar: "tamalan".In Vietnamese cẩm lai or trắc lai is a generic name for "rosewood" trees. Based at the Saigon Botanic Gardens, the French botanist JBL Pierre described a number of local variations in tree dimensions and characteristics of seed pods. Species he named are now considered to be synonyms:Dalbergia bariensis: cẩm lai bông, cẩm lai Bà Rịa – 15-20 m trees – pods 25 x 120mm, usually 1 seededDalbergia dongnaiensis: cẩm lai Ðồng Nai – 10-15 m trees – pods 30-45 x 100-110mm, 1 seedDalbergia duperreana: trắc – 10-20 m trees – pods 27-40 x 120mmDalbergia mammosa: cẩm lai vú - 20 m trees – pods 22 x 100mm, not narrowing on 1-2 seedsDalbergia olivieri: cẩm lai bông - 25 m trees – pods 17 x 60-80mm, 1 or 2 seeds
Uses
The wood of this rosewood-family tree is valuable for ornamental work including Woodturning and furniture. The sapwood is yellowish-white with dark brown heartwood. The heartwood is very hard and heavy. The lumber is sold under the names Burmese rosewood, Laos rosewood, and Asian rosewood.In contrast to the co-occurring Dalbergia cochinchinensis, Dalbergia ''oliveri'' avoids drought by chlorophyll content and compromise productivity. Its isohydric behaviour suggests it is suitable to be grown in deciduous forests.