cocobolo

thumb|300px|Chess piece|Chess pieces made of 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 heartwood changes color after being cut and can be polished to a lustrous, glassy finish. Being quite dense and sometimes having a relative density of over 1.0, it will sink in water. The sapwood (not often used) is a creamy yellow with a sharp boundary between it and the heartwood.