Where Does Huanghuali Come From? Understand the Main Producing Areas in One Article

Huanghuali is a rare and valuable wood. It grows slowly and has a solid texture, making it very beautiful and precious when crafted into furniture and ornaments. Where are the huanghuali producing areas?

1. Huanghuali producing areas

In China, huanghuali is mainly produced in Hainan, Guangdong, Fujian and other places, while abroad it is mainly produced in Vietnam and Myanmar. Specifically, its place of origin is the low-altitude plains and hilly areas of Diaoluo Mountain and Jianfeng Ridge on Hainan Island.

Huanghuali is also called Hainan yellow rosewood or Hainan huanghuali. Together with red sandalwood, ironwood and chicken-wing wood, it is known as one of the four famous woods of ancient China, and it is now a national second-class protected plant.

2. Differences between Hainan huanghuali and Vietnamese huanghuali

Hainan and Vietnam are close geographically, so the huanghuali produced in the two places is also very similar and not easy to distinguish. Although both belong to the category of rare and valuable woods, Hainan huanghuali is more expensive than Vietnamese huanghuali. So how can the two be distinguished?

1. Fragrance

Hainan huanghuali wood is also called jiangxiang wood and has a “jiangxiang” scent, which is relatively strong, clear, gentle and elegant; Vietnamese huanghuali, by contrast, has a weaker fragrance and gives off a slight sour smell after being smelled. In addition, Hainan huanghuali releases its fragrance for a longer time. A bracelet can still smell fragrant after being handled for a week, while Vietnamese huanghuali will no longer have much noticeable fragrance.

2. Color

Hainan huanghuali has diverse colors. In addition to the main golden yellow tone, it also has purple, brown, red and black, as well as any combination of these; Vietnamese huanghuali is mostly only yellow, and on the lighter side. Compared with each other, the color of Hainan huanghuali is slightly more subdued than that of Vietnamese huanghuali, with the overall color leaning toward dark red, while the overall color of Vietnamese huanghuali leans toward yellow-orange.

3. Grain

Hainan huanghuali has a fine, dense grain, and its ink lines are black and clear, mostly appearing in crab-claw shapes, phoenix-tail shapes and ox-hair texture patterns. Although irregular, they are never messy, and the flowing feel of the patterns gives people a sense of moving beauty. Vietnamese huanghuali, relatively speaking, is somewhat rougher, with a little more black halo in the ink lines, and landscape patterns are more common.

4. Feel

The surface of Hainan huanghuali is delicate and smooth, with a feel as warm and smooth as jade, while Vietnamese huanghuali is relatively rougher by comparison. This phenomenon is mainly due to the texture cell structure and very dense material structure of Hainan huanghuali. Another important reason is the proportion of oil (jiangxiang oil) contained in Hainan huanghuali. Relevant testing has found that the highest oil content of Hainan huanghuali wood reaches 27%, while that of Vietnamese huanghuali wood is only 0.5%.

5. Ghost faces

People sum up the characteristics of Hainan huanghuali as having “ghost faces.” In fact, the so-called “ghost faces” are just the knots and lumps formed during the growth of the tree. Because Hainan huanghuali has a long growth period, a harsh growing environment and many branches and knots, its wood grain is mostly twisted, interlaced and irregular, so patterns such as “ghost faces” and “ghost eyes” are more numerous and richer. Relatively speaking, Vietnamese huanghuali has a short growth period, and its grain is mostly smooth and natural, so the ghost-face patterns of Vietnamese huanghuali are more monotonous.