Palisandre is the French name for Rosewood. 'Rosewood' refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues.
All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for guitars, marimbas, turnery (billiard cues, the black pieces in chess sets, etc.), handles, furniture, luxury flooring, etc. It is therefore highly prized and over exploited.
In 2009 controversy arose surrounding the intensification of rosewood logging in Madagascar's national parks. Logging was linked to criminal syndicates that laundered rosewood logs through Reunion and Mauritius before transporting timber to China for processing.
This statue group is a memorial to the palisandre/rosewood that was plundered from the Ankarafantsika NP area.