Pau Rosa means rosewood in Portuguese, but this species (Swartzia fistuloides, syn. Bobgunnia madagascariensis) is no true rosewood, as the name suggests. The woods most pink colour and great density may have helped to obtain this descriptive popular trade name. The tree grows occasionally shattered in the southeast African rainforests of Mozambique and can grow up to impressive heights of approx. 30 meters and up to 1,10 m diameter.
The wood of Pau Rosa is very hard, very dense and heavy (approx. 1100 kg/m3) and is very rot resistant. Due to the hardness, machining is only advisable with very sharp tools, but the results are very good and worth the effort. The sapwood is pale yellowish, the heartwood pink, brownred to dark brown purple, vividly striped and often interlocked grained, very finepored and often covered with a translucent yellow shimmer. Its uses are very diverse, ranging from veneer and carvings to furniture, turned objects and musical instruments.
