Indian rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia) in numbers: hardness, weight, strength, shrinkage, movement and decay resistance, taken from the tables of the USDA Forest Products Laboratory’s Wood Handbook, followed by what the wood is like to work and what it is used for. The values are averages from small, clear, straight-grained test specimens; real boards with knots, sloping grain or a different moisture content will differ.
| Property | Indian rosewood |
|---|---|
| Janka side hardness, 12% moisture | 3,170 lbf (14,101 N) |
| Janka side hardness, green | 1,560 lbf |
| Hardness rank | harder than 161 of the 168 woods with a 12% hardness value in our database |
| Density at 12% moisture | 55.2 lb/ft³ (885 kg/m³)* |
| Weight per board foot (12%) | 4.60 lb* |
| Specific gravity (ovendry weight, green volume) | 0.75 |
| Specific gravity at 12% moisture | 0.79* |
| Bending strength (modulus of rupture), 12% | 16,900 psi |
| Stiffness (modulus of elasticity), 12% | 1.78 million psi |
| Crushing strength (compression parallel to grain), 12% | 9,220 psi |
| Shrinkage green to ovendry: radial / tangential / volumetric | 2.7% / 5.8% / 8.5% |
| Tangential / radial shrinkage ratio | 2.15 |
| Dimensional change per 1% moisture (radial / tangential) | not reported |
| Heartwood decay resistance | not rated |
The species in this group
Lumber is often sold under a group name. These are the species the Wood Handbook reports for this group, with the same properties side by side.
| Species | Janka (lbf) | Density (lb/ft³) | Bending (psi) | Stiffness (Mpsi) | Crushing (psi) | Shrink T/R (%) | Decay resistance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian rosewood Dalbergia latifolia | 3,170 | 55.2* | 16,900 | 1.78 | 9,220 | 5.8 / 2.7 | not rated |
| Brazilian rosewood Dalbergia nigra | 2,720 | 58.9* | 19,000 | 1.88 | 9,600 | 4.6 / 2.9 | not rated |
What it is
Rosewood is the name for several Dalbergia species. The two the Wood Handbook describes in detail are Indian rosewood (D. latifolia), native to most provinces of India except the north-west, and Brazilian rosewood (D. nigra), also called jacaranda, from the eastern Brazilian forests between Bahia and Rio de Janeiro. Long exploitation means Brazilian rosewood is no longer abundant.
Indian rosewood heartwood runs from golden brown to dark purplish brown with blacker streaks at the end of the growth zones, which gives a strong figure on flatsawn faces. Brazilian rosewood shades through brown, red and violet with irregular, conspicuous black streaks, and has an oily feel and a fragrant, distinctive smell. The Handbook says Indian rosewood is quite similar in appearance to Brazilian and Honduran rosewood.
Working properties
Both are hard and heavy. Indian rosewood has 3,170 lbf of Janka hardness in the Handbook tables and Brazilian rosewood 2,720; the Handbook notes that Brazilian rosewood is harder than any native US hardwood used for furniture and veneer. Both are very stable for their density, with tangential shrinkage around 5.8% for Indian rosewood.
Indian rosewood is moderately hard to work with hand tools and offers fair resistance in machines; boards with calcareous deposits dull tools rapidly. It turns well, holds screws well, and may need its pores filled for a very smooth finish. Brazilian rosewood machines and veneers well but, being oily, needs care for good glue bonds. Neither species has a Table 14-1 class; the Handbook says Brazilian rosewood has an excellent reputation for resisting fungi and insects, including termites.
Weight and density
At 12% moisture content indian rosewood weighs about 55.2 lb per cubic foot (estimated from its specific gravity and shrinkage), so one board foot (144 cubic inches) weighs about 4.60 lb. An 8 ft board of actual size 3/4 × 5-1/2 in. (a 1×6) holds 0.229 cubic feet and weighs about 12.7 lb; an 8 ft piece 1-1/2 × 3-1/2 in. (a 2×4 size) weighs about 16.1 lb. Green wood is much heavier because of the water it holds.
Density here is ovendry weight plus 12% water, divided by volume at 12% moisture content (Wood Handbook Eq. 4-12: density = specific gravity at 12% × 62.43 lb/ft³ × 1.12).
How it compares
| Species | Janka (lbf) | Density (lb/ft³) | Bending (psi) | Stiffness (Mpsi) | Tangential shrink (%) | Decay resistance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian rosewood | 3,170 | 55.2* | 16,900 | 1.78 | 5.8 | not rated |
| Bubinga | 2,690 | 54.3* | 22,600 | 2.48 | 8.4 | moderately resistant |
| Black walnut | 1,010 | 38.5 | 14,600 | 1.68 | 7.8 | resistant |
| Genuine mahogany (Honduran / big-leaf) | 800 | 33.0* | 11,500 | 1.5 | 4.1 | resistant |
| Courbaril (jatoba) | 2,350 | 53.8* | 19,400 | 2.16 | 8.5 | resistant |
| Purpleheart | 1,860 | 49.8* | 19,200 | 2.27 | 6.1 | very resistant |
Uses
Indian rosewood is essentially a decorative wood for high-quality furniture and cabinetwork and, in the United States, is used mostly as veneer. Brazilian rosewood is also used mainly as veneer for decorative plywood, with small amounts in solid form for cutlery handles, brush backs, billiard cue butts and fancy turnery. Both are famous as guitar woods for backs, sides and fingerboards.
Trade rules matter. Brazilian rosewood has been on CITES Appendix I, the strictest listing, since 1992. Indian rosewood and the other Dalbergia species were added to Appendix II in 2017, and a 2019 amendment exempted finished musical instruments, parts and accessories. Check current CITES and national rules before buying or exporting rosewood lumber.
Frequently asked questions
How hard is Indian rosewood?
The Wood Handbook gives Indian rosewood 3,170 lbf (14,101 N) of Janka hardness at 12% moisture content, about 2.3 times that of white oak.
What is the difference between Indian and Brazilian rosewood?
They are related Dalbergia species with similar uses. Brazilian rosewood shows more red and violet with bold black streaks and is far scarcer and tightly regulated (CITES Appendix I); Indian rosewood is golden to purplish brown and is the more common guitar and furniture rosewood.
Is rosewood heavy?
Yes. We estimate Indian rosewood at about 55.2 lb per cubic foot at 12% moisture content, or 4.60 lb per board foot.
Can I buy Brazilian rosewood?
Only old stock with documentation, or wood with CITES permits. Since 1992 it has been on CITES Appendix I, which bans commercial international trade in newly harvested wood.
Sources
- USDA Forest Products Laboratory. Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material. General Technical Report FPL-GTR-190, 2010. Chapter 2 (species descriptions), Chapter 4 (Tables 4-3, 4-4 shrinkage; Eq. 4-7, 4-9, 4-12 density), Chapter 5 (Tables 5-3b, 5-5b strength and hardness), Chapter 13 (Table 13-5 dimensional change coefficients), Chapter 14 (Table 14-1 decay resistance)
- USDA Forest Products Laboratory. Wood Handbook, 2021 edition (FPL-GTR-282)
Last reviewed: 24 October 2026. Numbers are generated from our parsed copy of the Handbook tables, so every page uses the same data. Values marked * are estimates computed with the Handbook’s own equations. Spotted an error? Please let us know.