The Use of the Amazonian Rosewood Tree

The Effects on the Amazon Rain Forest of Using Tropical Hardwoods

Nov 17, 2008

Rosewood has traditionally been used for furniture making but it is now being used in aromatherapy also; in Brazil, Rosewood is already an endangered species.

The rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora) tree is native to the Amazon basin in South America and is found mainly in Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The rosewood tree is a tropical evergreen tree which grows to about 36 feet; it has a red color bark and heartwood and produces yellow flowers. Rosewood has traditionally been felled for its use as timber.

Rosewood is a member of the Lauraceae plant family and has been traditionally used for French cabinet making, carving and building work; in Japan, rosewood is used in the making of musical instruments and chopsticks. However, it is now being used in aromatherapy also; an essential oil is obtained from the steam distillation of wood chippings of the tree.

The Cost to the Rain Forest of Using Rosewood Oil

The use of rosewood in aromatherapy has raised concerns as to the continued contribution to the destruction of the rain forests from which it is extensively felled; traditionally, the timber from the wild rosewood tree could only be collected during the flood season between April and July, ensuring that the logs could be floated down the river from the rain forest to the exterior ports; the cost of transporting any other way was prohibitively expensive.

The Implications of Rosewood Plantations

However, in recent years the logging of rosewood has been directed to cultivated plantations. These plantations, some as far back as the 1930's, have existed to ensure the preservation of the wild rosewood tree. Cultivated plantations help to eliminate the destruction of the rain forests; replanting programs also exist in some places.

Despite these efforts, there is still some controversy as to whether replanting and plantation programs work in reality; some say that new rosewood trees have difficulty growing because of the past destruction of the rain forest and the impact on the soil quality. New rosewood trees have difficulty establishing themselves.

The Use of Rosewood for Aromatherapy

Rosewood trees which are at least 20 years old yield the greatest amount of essential oil for use in aromatherapy; therefore it takes time to establish rosewood trees which are mature enough for aromatherapy use. This was not traditionally considered in the felling of a tree for timber use alone.

Brazil and Peru are considered to be the main producers of rosewood essential oil but there are efforts by other countries in South America, such as Uruguay and Paraguay, to produce a rosewood oil which is more sustainable by using the branches and twigs; this would mean that the use of the rosewood tree in aromatherapy would not be contributing to the destruction of the rain forest.

The Future of the Rosewood Tree

The continued destruction of the rain forest through the logging of tropical hardwood trees such as Rosewood is unsustainable and demand for tropical hardwoods by countries such as Japan and the US only contributes to the ecological and biological damage to the rain forest environment; it is an unsustainable demand which, if continued, may result in the extinction of trees such as the rosewood.

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The copyright of the article The Use of the Amazonian Rosewood Tree in Plant Ecology is owned by Sharon Falsetto. Permission to republish The Use of the Amazonian Rosewood Tree in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.