The legend!
Pink Ivory was the royal wood of the Zulu people of Africa. Legend states that the Zulu king would carry a staff crafted from this wood, as well as ornamental jewelry, and any others caught possessing the wood of the Pink Ivory tree were to be punished by beheading. This included foreigners in their own country and abroad. Many have said that this legend was simply invented by the Africans to drive up the price of the wood as an export item, but that is unclear. It is a protected tree in South Africa, and only cut down by limited permit, making it one of the most rare and expensive crafting woods in the world. The tree itself is a fruit-bearing tree, and the fruit is traded in marketplaces across southern Africa.