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Kingwood is a classic furniture wood, almost exclusively used for inlays on very fine furniture. It was the most expensive wood in general use for furniture making in the seventeenth century, at which time it was known as princes wood. It is brownish-purple with many fine darker stripes and occasional irregular swirls. Occasionally it contains pale streaks of a similar colour to the sapwood, as in the picture.
It is yielded by a smallish tree, '' Dalbergia cearensis'', restricted to a small area in Brazil. Other woods from the same genus are 
cocobolo
Cocobolo is a tropical hardwood of Central American trees belonging to the genus '' Dalbergia''. Only the heartwood of cocobolo is used; it is usually orange or reddish-brown, often with darker irregular traces weaving through the wood. The hear ...
, rosewood
Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues.
True rosewoods
All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated ...
, African blackwood
''Dalbergia melanoxylon'' (African blackwood, grenadilla, or mpingo) is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to seasonally dry regions of Africa from Senegal east to Eritrea and south to the north-eastern parts of South Africa. The ...
, Bombay blackwood and Brazilian tulipwood. The wood is very dense and hard, and can be brought to a spectacular finish. It turns well, but due to its density and hardness it can be difficult to work with hand tools. It also has a tendency to blunt tools due to its abrasive properties.
It is available only in small sizes. Occasionally it is used in the solid for small items and turned work, including parts of billiard cues, e.g., those made by John Parris.
References
* Wood Forestry in Brazil {{furniture-stub