Dalbergia retusa Hemsl.
Papilionaceae
Cocobolo, Rosewood
Occasional canopy or subcanopy tree (15-20m) most frequently found in the dry tropical forests of Costa Rica’s northern Pacific Slope. Cocobolo is world-renown for the beauty of its richly colored, orange-brown and dark-veined wood.
Description: Cocobolo trees have irregular, often, multiple trunks (40cm) topped with open crowns. The bark is grey-brown or reddish-brown and fissured by shallow, vertical grooves. Older pieces of the cortex are shed in thick but narrow plates. Cocobolo crowns tend to be irregularly shaped and open. The leaves (25 x 13cm) of this species are imparipinnately compound and alternate, each leaf itself composed of around 5 or 7 oval, entire, and smooth leaflets. Leaves are gradually lost during the early months of the dry season, and new foliage appears just a bit in advance of the first rains of the wet season.
Flowers (1 cm) are produced in large axillary panicles (about 20 cm long or more) holding a hundred or so of the irregular, white blossoms. Resembling pea flowers, each has five unequal petals; a cup-shaped, fused green calyx; ten stamens; and a green central pistil. A large, superior petal, sporting a pale green spot at its center, forms a wide hood over the remaining, narrow, inferior petals. Flowering immediately precedes leaf generation, and occurs in March or April. Cocobolo fruits (15cm x 3cm) grow rapidly from the green pistils and reach full size as flat, narrow, green papery pods. Each contains from one to three this seeds that germinate readily when moistened. The pods persist in the crown for months, eventually during brown and getting pulled off the tree by the strong winds of the dry season.
Similar Species: Cocobolos shortish stature, irregular crowns, widely rounded oval leaflets, and persistent, papery seed pods are telltale hallmarks of this species and make it difficult to confuse with other trees in its habitat. A possible exception to this could be Platymiscium pinnatum (Cristobal) and trees of the Lonchocarpus genus that have similar, persistent flat seed pods and imparipinnate leaves. These latter species sport yellow and lavender flowers, respectively, and have larger and less-rounded leaflets.
Natural History: Cocobollo flowers are visited by bees and moths during the day. The seeds are carried away from the parent trees by the strong, often gusty winds of the northwestern Costa Rica dry season.
Uses: Cocobolo is best known for its dense, hardwood that is richly colored and dark-veined. The older, and darker heartwood contrasts stunningly with the light yellow sapwood that surrounds it. Freshly cut, the dark heartwood has tones of deep orange mottled with dark brown streaks. In this state, the wood almost seems to give off its own light, nearly glowing with warmth. Over time, the orange hues fade, and the wood is left with its tan coloring interwoven with dark brown veins. Cocobolo wood is used for furniture making and other artisanry.
Distribution: In Costa Rica, Cocobolo is found primarily in the dry tropical forest habitat typical of the northwest Pacific slope. I have observed the species in Santa Rosa, Murcielago, and Palo Verde National Parks, and in protected forests near Punta Leona, Curu, and Nosara. The species ranges from Mexico to Panama.
Tree Trunk Leaf Flower Flower2 Flower3 Fruit Fruit2 Wood Seedling
Trees of Costa Rica's Pacific Slope 
