Plant of the day is: Dalbergia abrahamii or rosewood
A new direction for plant of the day will be towards endangered/threatened species. This is the first of many to come. Information on these is quite limited, but I'll shed what I can on them. For this one, Kew has some of the few images available and they are copyright so I have provided a link above. Hopefully in the future, more pictures will be available.
Habitat etc.: This species is again a Fabaceae family member, completely by chance I assure you, it IS a big family after all. It is endemic to northern Madagascar where it is known only from a few scattered populations, notably in Autsiranana and and Ankarana reserve. It is found on limestone outcrops and/or thin volcanic soil at lower elevations and can handle some dry conditions. This really highlights the necessity and utmost importance of even the smallest of protected areas in many a habitat (even here).
Tropicos Herbarium Sample - Collection noted as Ankarana
Status: It is endangered because of forest destruction, for a few reasons. One, it is of great interest in selective felling as the wood is quite lovely. I get that it is nice, but there are other species in the genus throughout other tropical areas that could be more responsibly utilized. Secondly, it is targeted for charcoal, that's a neat read sometime to look up. There are actually several members of this genus that are endangered or threatened, which is sad. I'd like to see us embrace the things we find beautiful in a less destructive manner.
The best picture I can leave you with is an indicator of the beauty of the wood from a different species Dalbergia latifolia from the monsoon forests of eastern India. It is IUCN listed a vulnerable.
Let us not go all check mate on this species.
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