Бразильське рожеве дерево

The tree

The tree, known as pau-rosa in Brazil, is a member of the family Lauraceae. The tree is evergreen, up to 30 meters in height and 2 meters in diameter. The entire tree is fragrant. The name rosewood comes from its yellow-brown bark. It is found in the Brazilian states of Amapá, Amazonas and Pará. It is also found in Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. It is often mistaken for rosewood, but it does not belong to Dalbergia, the proper rosewood genus. Members of the genus Dalbergia have never been a source of rosewood oil. Rosewood oil is extracted from the wood of Aniba parviflora and possibly other Aniba species.

Composition

The linalool content of the trunkwood oil is about 80-97%. One trunkwood oil from Novo Airão, Brazil, contained linalool (87.7%), α-terpineol (3.1%), trans-linalool oxide (1.5%) and cis-linalool oxide (1.5%). The oils of Aniba duckei and Aniba rosaeodora, both called pau-rosa in the Brazilian Amazon, contain about 85% linalool. The oil of Aniba parviflora contains a lower percentage of linalool, about 40%. Linalool is a terpene alcohol classified as an acyclic monoterpenoid. Together with geraniol, nerol and citronellol, linalool is one of the rose alcohols.

Conservation

Aniba rosaeodora is an endangered species. Populations have declined rapidly due to the destructive harvesting methods. Areas previously logged have not seen much regrowth. The wood and essential oil of Aniba rosaeodora are on Appendix II of CITES. The density of rosewood trees in the forest is low, about 1 tree per 7 hectares. The Brazilian government has enacted regulations to help conserve the species. Early experiments in artificial cultivation and propagation were failures. More recent attempts have been more successful.