Palissandre rouge des marais, hitsika, sovodrano
Dalbergia baronii

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

Dalbergia baronii is a legume endemic to Madagascar. It is deciduous and grows up to 30 m in height with a short bole. It is overexploited for its highly valued timber.The wood is moderately heavy to heavy with fine and even texture. It is resistant to termite attacks and is moderately durable. It is used for musical instruments, shingles, carpentry, carvings, ship and boat building, veneer, plywood, etc.

Dalbergia baronii is a deciduous Tree growing to 20 m (65ft) by 20 m (65ft) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. The flowers are pollinated by Insects. It can fix Nitrogen. Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid and saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist or wet soil.

Height (m): 20

Where it is found

Lowland, evergreen, humid, rainforest, sea-level to 150, occ. 600 metres. Often by watercourses, also in swamp forest and the land margin of mangroves. Usually on sandy soils, sometimes saline, rarely on ferrallitic soils at higher altitudes.

Africa - eastern Madagascar.

Conservation Status: Status: Vulnerable A1cd+2cd

Countries/locations it is found in

Madagascar

How it is used

Food

Rating: 0

Medicine

Rating: 0

Other

Rating: 4

Other Uses: The heartwood is greyish yellow-brown to reddish brown or dark brown, often with darker stripes; it is distinctly demarcated from the sapwood. The wood is moderately heavy to heavy; the grain is generally straight; texture fine and even. Fresh wood has a sweetish smell. Once dry, the wood is very stable in service. The wood works well, both with hand tools and machine tools; it finishes well, taking a beautiful polish; the nailing properties are moderate and pre-boring is needed; finishing with oil-based paint gives moderate results; the gluing properties are variable. The wood is suitable for sliced veneer. It is moderately durable, and resistant to termites. The heartwood is very resistant to treatment with preservatives. A valuable timber, it is one of the so-called rosewoods which are much in demand for cabinet making, furniture, marquetry and parquet flooring. It is one of the favoured woods for musical instruments, especially guitars, not only because of its beautiful colour and venation, but also because of its clearness of tone. It is also suitable for shingles, exterior and interior trim, joinery, carpentry and framing, ship and boat building, vehicle bodies, precision equipment, carvings, toys and novelties, turnery, pattern making, veneer and plywood. It is used for carving traditional art. In the past the wood was used exclusively for the construction of houses for royal people.

Furniture: A few miscellaneous uses that do not fit easily into other headings.

Wood: A list of the trees and shrubs that are noted for having useful wood.

Nitrogen Fixer: Plants that fix nitrogen in the soil

How it is grown

A plant of the humid tropical lowlands. We have no specific information on this species, but members of this genus generally prefer a fertile, loam soil and a position in full sun. The tree is overexploited, and will soon disappear from the timber market as stands have largely been depleted. Protection of remaining stands is badly needed, and Dalbergia baronii will only have a role as commercial timber in the future if plantations become successful, or if the timber is sustainably harvested from natural forest. This will probably allow only very low yield levels because trees presumably grow slowly. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby.

Propagating it: Like many species within the family Fabaceae, once they have been dried for storage the seeds of this species may benefit from scarification before sowing in order to speed up germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Tree

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Medium

Soil: Light (sandy), medium

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Moist, wet

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

Palissandre rouge des marais - French, hazovola - Malagasy, hitsika - Malagasy, sovodrano - Malagasy, sovoka - Malagasy, voambona - Malagasy.

Synonyms

No synonyms are recorded for this name.