Dalbergia melanoxylon

The dense, lustrous <a href="/facts/Wood/z13NpHPl">wood</a> ranges in colour from reddish to pure black. It is generally cut into small billets or logs with its sharply demarcated bright yellow-white sapwood left on to assist in the slow drying so as to prevent cracks developing. Good quality "A" grade African blackwood commands high prices on the commercial timber market. The timber is used mainly because of its machinability, density, dimensional stability, and moisture repellence. Those properties are particularly valued when used in woodwind instruments, principally <a href="/facts/Clarinet/57a45Ia7">clarinets</a>, <a href="/facts/Oboe/Grnq9JAx">oboes</a>, <a href="/facts/Flute/bByjt2vu">transverse flutes</a>, <a href="/facts/Piccolo/rleSc7Db">piccolos</a>, <a href="/facts/Recorder_(musical_instrument)/6PegJmIe">recorders</a>, <a href="/facts/Highland_pipes/ag64Dq9m">Highland pipes</a>, and <a href="/facts/Northumbrian_pipes/g61a6wPo">Northumbrian pipes</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3">3</a>[unreliable source?] The <a href="/facts/Deering_Banjo_Company/L0s2UA0m">Deering Banjo Company</a> uses blackwood ("grenadilla") to construct the tone ring in its John Hartford-model banjo because it weighs less than brass or bronze tone rings, and that the wood "plays in" (improves in tone) with use. Furniture makers from <a href="/facts/Ancient_Egypt/BDsEGK4g">ancient Egypt</a> on have valued this timber. A story states that it has even been used as ballast in trading ships and that some enterprising Northumbrian pipe makers used old discarded blackwood ballast to great effect. The German knife companies <a href="/facts/W%C3%BCsthof/I39ywn1o">Wüsthof</a>, <a href="/facts/B%C3%B6ker/g05D3Pf0">Böker</a> and <a href="/facts/J._A._Henckels/uqdkutg6">J. A. Henckels</a> sell knives with blackwood handles due to the wood's moisture repellent qualities.
Due to overuse, the mpingo tree is severely threatened in Kenya and is needing attention in Tanzania and Mozambique. The trees are being harvested at an unsustainable rate, partly because of illegal smuggling of the wood into Kenya, but also because the tree takes upwards of 60 years to mature.
African blackwood is often cited as one of the most expensive woods in the world, along with <a href="/facts/Sandalwood/VK1E1J75">sandalwood</a>, <a href="/facts/Pink_ivory/3f3vPrYu">pink ivory</a>, <a href="/facts/Agarwood/WmmSBfnU">agarwood</a> and <a href="/facts/Ebony/nwh4jDzM">ebony</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a>

<h3>Relation to other woods</h3>
<ul><li>African blackwood is no longer regarded as <a href="/facts/Ebony/nwh4jDzM">ebony</a>, a name now reserved for a limited number of timbers yielded by the genus <a href="/facts/Diospyros/8THjEA6w">Diospyros</a>; these are more of a matte appearance and are more brittle.</li>
<li>The genus <a href="/facts/Dalbergia/dnUefqVj">Dalbergia</a> yields other notable timbers, widely known as <a href="/facts/Rosewood/kWINNfMD">palisanders</a> (true rosewoods), such as <a href="/facts/Brazilian_rosewood/dHInYndP">Brazilian rosewood</a> (Dalbergia nigra), <a href="/facts/Dalbergia_cearensis/RupGTESM">Dalbergia cearensis</a>, <a href="/facts/Cocobolo/zIVj3Le3">cocobolo</a> (Dalbergia retusa) and several others.</li></ul>
<h2 id="names">Names</h2>
Other names by which the tree is known include babanus and grenadilla, which appear as <a href="/facts/Loanword/PWGYczgY">loanwords</a> in various local English dialects.

<h2 id="conservation">Conservation</h2>
There are multiple organisations involved in the conservation of African blackwood: the Mpingo Conservation & Development Initiative, the African Blackwood Conservation Project, and Daraja Music Initiative (formerly Clarinets for Conservation).
The Mpingo Conservation & Development Initiative (MCDI, formerly the Mpingo Conservation Project) is involved in research, awareness raising and practical conservation of African blackwood. Conservation of mpingo and its natural habitat can be achieved by ensuring that local people living in mpingo harvesting areas receive a fair share of the revenue created, thus providing them with an incentive to manage the habitat in an environmentally friendly manner. In order to achieve this, the MCDI is helping communities to get Forest Stewardship Certification.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a>
The African blackwood Conservation Project works around <a href="/facts/Mount_Kilimanjaro/82wb2Xy0">Mount Kilimanjaro</a> replanting African blackwood trees, and in conservation education. It also works with adult and women's groups in the promotion of environmentally sound land uses.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a>
Daraja Music Initiative (formerly Clarinets for Conservation) is a U.S.-based non-profit that aims to raise awareness and promote conservation of mpingo through music education in Tanzania. Students participate in an interdisciplinary program during the summer months that raises awareness of the value of mpingo through musical performances, classroom instruction, and tree plantings at local secondary and primary schools.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a>
Small growers in <a href="/facts/Naples,_Florida/pbcnMDeE">Naples, Florida</a> have been successful in growing African blackwood there. Growth habit in Florida yields taller, larger trees, and the rich soil combined with ample nutrients and long growing season yields timber of superior quality at more sustainable rates.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a>

<h2 id="footnotes">Footnotes</h2>

<h2 id="references-and-external-links">References and external links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/World_Conservation_Monitoring_Centre/FlxbNPfb">World Conservation Monitoring Centre</a> (1998). <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/32504/9710439">"Dalbergia melanoxylon"</a>. <a href="/facts/IUCN_Red_List/8gemqCLu">IUCN Red List of Threatened Species</a>. 1998: e.T32504A9710439. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.2305%2FIUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T32504A9710439.en">10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T32504A9710439.en</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://allafrica.com/search/?search_string=mpingo+tree&search_submit=Search">allAfrica.com - news on mpingo tree</a></li>
<li><a href="https://winrock.org/factnet-a-lasting-impact/fact-sheets/dalbergia-melanoxylon-valuable-wood-from-a-neglected-tree/">Winrock International - Dalbergia melanoxylon</a></li>
<li><a href="https://globaltrees.org/threatened-trees/trees/mpingo/">Global Trees - Mpingo</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.mpingoconservation.org/">Mpingo Conservation Project in Tanzania</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.ipsnews.net/?s=mpingo">Inter Press Service (News Agency) - news on mpingo</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.westafricanplants.senckenberg.de/root/index.php?page_id=13&preview=true&searchTextMenue=Dalbergia+melanoxylon&search=Wikitemplate">Dalbergia melanoxylon</a> in <a href="http://www.westafricanplants.senckenberg.de/">West African plants – A Photo Guide.</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">Amri, E.; Z.L. Kanyeka; H.V.M. Lyaruu; A.S. Nyomora (2009). "Evaluation of genetic diversity in Dalbergia elanoxylon populations using random amplified polymorphic DNA markers". Research Journal of Cell and Molecular Biology. 3 (2). INSInet Publication: 71–79. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">Amri, E.; Z.L. Kanyeka; H.V.M. Lyaruu; A.S. Nyomora (2009). "Evaluation of genetic diversity in Dalbergia elanoxylon populations using random amplified polymorphic DNA markers". Research Journal of Cell and Molecular Biology. 3 (2). INSInet Publication: 71–79. <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">"Most Expensive Wood". most-expensive.com. Retrieved 2023-04-19. <a href="http://most-expensive.com/wood" target="_blank">http://most-expensive.com/wood</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">"Top 10 Most Expensive Woods in the World". Salpoente Boutique. 18 November 2016. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200727065034/http://renesabino.com/luxury-blog/top-10-expensive-woods-world/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20200727065034/http://renesabino.com/luxury-blog/top-10-expensive-woods-world/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">"11 Most Expensive Woods in the World". Ventured. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020. <a href="https://ventured.com/most-expensive-woods-in-the-world/" target="_blank">https://ventured.com/most-expensive-woods-in-the-world/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">"Mpingo Conservation - Home". www.mpingoconservation.org. Retrieved 2023-04-19. <a href="https://www.mpingoconservation.org/" target="_blank">https://www.mpingoconservation.org/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">"African Blackwood Conservation Project – Tree planting projects for Dalbergia melanoxylon". Retrieved 2023-04-19. <a href="https://www.blackwoodconservation.org/" target="_blank">https://www.blackwoodconservation.org/</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">Harrie, Jessica (2018-04-26). "Clarinets for Conservation: Sustaining the Earth Through Music". International Clarinet Association. Retrieved 2023-04-19. <a href="https://clarinet.org/clarinets-for-conservation-sustaining-the-earth-through-music/" target="_blank">https://clarinet.org/clarinets-for-conservation-sustaining-the-earth-through-music/</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">"Plants For A Future - Dalbergia melanoxylon". pfaf.org. Retrieved 2023-04-19. <a href="https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Dalbergia+melanoxylon" target="_blank">https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Dalbergia+melanoxylon</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">"Blackwood use could soon become tricky". pipes|drums. 2016-12-03. Retrieved 2023-04-19. <a href="https://www.pipesdrums.com/article/blackwood-use-could-soon-become-tricky/" target="_blank">https://www.pipesdrums.com/article/blackwood-use-could-soon-become-tricky/</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Dalbergia melanoxylon open-in-new

Dalbergia melanoxylon