A very variable species, as can be gathered from the great number of synonyms ascribed to it[].

Common Name:

General Information

Diospyros ferrea is an evergreen tree that can grow 10 - 15 metres tall. The straight, slender bole can be 20 - 40cm in diameter[, ]. The plant is sometimes procumbent[].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and source of fibre and good quality wood. The wood is also traded. The tree is sometimes cultivated for its wood in China[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Widespread in the tropics through Africa and Asia to New Guinea, northern Australia and the western Pacifoc.

Habitat

Drier sites in closed-forest, forest margins, rocky savannah and coastal thickets in west Africa[]. Evergreen broad-leaved forests along coast and to elevations of 500 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	10.00 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required[].

Edible Uses

The fruit-pulp is edible when ripe. It is said to be a famine food in southern India[]. The fruit is a woody-shelled, globose berry up to 15mm in diameter containing a fleshy pulp surrounding 1 - 3 seeds[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The fibrous bark is used to make cordage[].

The heartwood is jet black, if streaky, the streaks are always whitish or grayish, never yellow, red, or brown; it is clearly demarcated from the wide band of grey white sapwood. The wood is close-grained, very hard, heavy, very dense and durable, but liable to split. A high quality wood, but trees are often too small to give much yield. Where size permits, the wood is used for cabinet work, walking sticks, ornamental carvings, boat-anchors, tool-handles, sheaths of weapons and for rafters[, , , ].

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 - in general the seed of Diospyros species 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[].
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 [].

Add a Comment:

If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.

Name:

Email(Private):

Message:

Captcha: what is half of 6?