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The 'World Checklist of Selected Plant Families' and the Flora of China[], list this species as Diospyros discolor Willd., citing Diospyros blancoi as a synonym. However, Diospyros blancoi seems to be the name in virtually universal use and so we are staying with that name for the present (2012)[].

Common Name: Velvet Apple

General Information

Diospyros blancoi is a rather slow-growing, evergreen tree[]. It varies in habit from a small, straggly tree with drooping branches, to an erect, straight tree normally up to 18 metres tall, with exceptional specimens up to 33 metres, with a stout, black, furrowed bole that can be 80cm in diameter[]).
The edible fruits are highly esteemed in some areas, but are barely known in most parts of the world[]. The tree is also the source of a valuable timber that is used locally and traded, especially in the form of carvings. This is one of 33 species named as being a suitable Hongmu (red wood) timber, used for producing high quality Chinese furniture following traditions from the Ming and Quing dynasty[]. The tree is sometimes cultivated for its fruit and wood in the tropics, most commonly as a backyard tree, and is also often used as a shade tree along the sides of roads[, ]. It is grown as an ornamental, being valued for its leaves and attractive-looking fruit[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

E. Asia - Malaysia, Philippines.

Habitat

Found in both primary and secondary forest at low and medium elevations[, ].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	10.00 m
Growth Rate	Slow
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of hot, humid, lowland tropics[]. The tree grows well in areas with a monsoon climate from sea level to 800 metres elevation[]. Mature trees can withstand light frost for short periods[].
Prefers a position in full sun[]. An easily grown tree, succeeding on almost any soil and requiring very little attention[]. Trees are very wind tolerant, even resisting typhoons[].
A rather slow growing tree, it can take 3 years before seedlings are ready to transplant to their permanent positions[].
The velvet apple is a very productive and easily grown fruit tree[]. The fruit, however, lacks sweetness and is rather dry, making it less popular than many other tropical fruits. Unless cultivars that bear sweet, juicy fruits are developed, it will remain a minor crop[].
Seedless cultivars and those with low tannin content of the fruit exist[, ].
Usually a dioecious species, though monoecious forms have been seen[]. Male trees must be planted near the female trees for effective pollination and fruit production[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked. A white or cream-coloured flesh, the ripe fruit is mealy, aromatic and somewhat sweet[, ]. The fruit emanates a strong, cheese-like odour, it can be rather dry and astringent[]. The aroma is contained mainly in the skin, which is normally removed before the fruit is eaten It should be stored for 3 - 4 days after harvest in order to ripen more fully[]. The flesh can also be diced and combined with that of other fruits in salads[]. Some people prefer eating the unripe fruit, being crisp like an apple but juicier and sweeter[]. The furry skin is unpalatable and can cause irritation in the mouth - it needs to be removed before the fruit is eaten[, ]. The velvety, brown-reddish fruit is a globose or depressed-globose berry, 5 - 12cm x 8 - 10cm[].

Medicinal

A decoction of the young leaves is used as a treatment for hypertension, heart ailments and diabetes[]. The leaves
are heated and squeezed with the leaves of Plectranthus amboinicus to make a preparation that is used to treat chest colds[].

The bark is astringent, A decoction is used as a treatment for coughs, fevers, dysentery and diarrhoea[].
The bark and the leaves are used as a wash to treat skin ailments such as itchy skin[]. They are also used as an eyewash[]. The juice of the bark and leaves is used to treat snakebites[].

The juice of unripe fruit is astringent. It is used as a wash for wounds[].
An infusion of the fruit is used as a gargle in treating aphthous stomatitis[].

An oil expressed from the seeds is used as a treatment for diarrhoea and dysentery[].

Other Uses

Sometimes used as a rootstock for the persimmon, Diospyros kaki[].

The fresh wood is said to act as an insect repellent[].

The heartwood is streaked and mottled, sometimes nearly dead black; it is clearly demarcated from the up to 20cm wide band of reddish or pinkish sapwood. The sapwood sometimes stains more or less to a dull gray[].The wood is smooth and durable, and is much used in the Philippines in making handicrafts[, ]. The wood is also used as streaked ebony, especially for carvings and special furniture[].

We do not have any more specific information for this species. However, though varying widely in the relative proportion and the colouring of sapwood and heartwood, all the woods of the genus Diospyros are practically indistinguishable as regards their structure, as described below:-[]
Whether or not a given species produces heartwood depends largely on the size the tree has attained, but evidently also on other conditions, as there is a wide variation in the relative amounts of sapwood and heartwood even in individuals of the same species. When produced, the heartwood can be black with rosy, yellowish, brownish, or ashy streaks, sometimes it is nearly or totally black; it is generally sharply demarcated from the thin to very wide band of whitish, yellowish, or red sapwood. The texture is fine, smooth and (especially in the heartwood) very dense; the grain is generally very straight. The wood is hard to very hard; heavy to very heavy; the sapwood is tough and flexible whilst the heartwood is brittle; the heartwood is very durable, the sapwood moderately so. It is difficult to season well, logs almost invariably checking in several directions from the heart outward, while sawn lumber must be stacked carefully and weighted to prevent warping; once thoroughly dried, however, it becomes very stable. Its density makes it difficult to work, but it takes a beautiful surface under sharp tools[].
Small trees containing little or no heartwood are used locally for posts, beams, joists, rafters, window sills, parts of agricultural implements, etc.; also, in lumbering, small poles are used for skids on account of their hardness, toughness and smooth wearing qualities. The heartwood (or sometimes sap and heart together) is used for scabbards, canes, hilts, tool handles, gunstocks, saw frames, etc.; it is a favorite for musical instruments, especially finger boards and keys of guitars; furniture, cabinetwork, inlaying; paper weights, inkstands and similar desk supplies; the sapwood, which is almost as hard as the heartwood and very much tougher, is an excellent material for T-squares and other drawing instruments, for shuttles, bobbins, spindles, golf-club heads and shafts, axe, pick, and hammer handles, etc[].

Propagation

Seed - it has a very short viability and so should be sown as soon as possible[]. The flesh should be removed since this contains germination inhibitors[]. Sow the seed in a shady position in a nursery seedbed. The sowing media for ebony uses soil and fine sand at the ratio 3:1. The seed is planted horizontally or vertically with
the radicle end down, with a sowing depth of 1 - 1½ times the thickness of seed. Distance between the seeds is 3 - 5cm. Seeds are very sensitive to desiccation during germination and early growth, so must be regularly watered at this time[]. Normally the seed will germinate after one week. In one trial, fresh seed, sown one day after collection, showed 85% germination rate within 17 - 65 days[].
As a rule fresh seeds have a high percentage of fertility. The seedlings develop long taproots at an early stage, often before any appreciable elongation of the shoot takes place. The growth of the seedling is decidedly slow [].
Grafting. In cleft grafting, 1-year-old seedlings are used as a rootstock. The scions are obtained from mature, current season's growth with well developed terminal buds and cut 10-12 cm long[].

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