Ziricote (Cordia dodecandra)

Ziricote is sometimes called "Mexican Ebony," though it's not really black and it's not Ebony. Ziricote has a striking appearance, much like Brazilian Rosewood, with "spider-webbing" but in shades of grays and olive greens with black, rather than reds with black. Always visually stunning, it is denser than most rosewoods, but both its tonal and aesthetic qualities are excellent.

Although Ziricote is not a member of the Dalbergia (Rosewood) family, it has excellent low dampening qualities similar to most rosewoods with a clean, reverberating resonance. Ziricote pairs well with almost any top to bring a wide tonal variety. The tone of Ziricote falls between Indian Rosewood and Macassar Ebony - it has more clarity than Indian but provides more overtones than Macassar. Its tone is comparable to Brazilian Rosewood, for its powerful, deep bass response, paired with slightly scooped mids and with vivid, sparkling highs.

On the workbench, it behaves somewhat like Ebony and tends to be brittle, but what it lacks in workability it more than makes up for in tonality, which is why many renowned guitar makers use Ziricote on some of their most excellent models.