Pao Rosewood
 

I was wondering if anyone could straighten out for me what Pao Rosewood is, I’ve researched and it seems folks are comparing it to Pao Ferro. I was wondering if you could tell me the characteristics of this tonewood and if it would pair well with Adirondack. Thank you in advance

I have one set of Pau Rosa left but I am not sure if its the same wood you are considering? Mine is salmon red color, very tight closed pores with darker reddish brown streaks near the cambium. It is hard, heavy with a crisp, glassy, metallic tap tone and excellent sustain.

Google came up with this info: "There are at least a dozen species from 8 genera that have pau rosa as all or part of one or more of their common names and I have no idea which of them are represented on this page. Native areas of growth include at least South America, Africa, and parts of Asia for the various species. Clearly the name "pau rosa" is not terribly helpful, but it is a widely used one even if vague about species.

"pau rosa" is Portugese for "rosewood" but only a few of the species that use the name pau rosa are of the genus Dalbergia (the true rosewoods) and one of those is Dalbergia frutescenss which is MUCH more commonly known as Brazilian tulipwood. Clearly there is a LOT of room for confusion with this name."

Pau Ferro or Bolivian Rosewood (which is not a true dalbergia) may be what you are referring to?

Checking my reference books only leads to one reference for pao, and it says in the index,
pao=pau
So it looks like Tim has gotten it.