Common Name:

General Information

Diospyros loureiriana is a dioecious, semi-deciduous shrub or small tree up growing to 6 metres tall with occasional specimens up to 10 metres[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a dyestuff, also supplying timber, medicines and food.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Eastern tropical Africa - Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Habitat

Very common on poor soils in sunny locations in wooded or grassy savannah, often in Brachystegia-Julbernardia woodland, from sea-level up to elevations of 750 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Semi-deciduous Tree
Height	6.00 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

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

Edible Uses

The fruits are edible[].

Medicinal

Chewed fresh roots and a root extract are applied externally to snakebites, or the extract is drunk[].

The dried, powdered root bark has fungicidal and molluscicidal properties[]. In bioassays it was found that 5 ppm 7-methyljuglone was lethal to Biomphalaria glabrata snails within 24 hours, and 0.025 μg was sufficient to prevent growth of the fungus Cladosporium cucumerinum[].
Triterpenoids (including α-amyrin, betulinic acid and various mixtures) were isolated from the leaves[]

Other Uses

A black dye is extracted from the roots by pounding and boiling them[, ]. It is used for dyeing mats and wickerwork[]. The fibres to be dyed are steeped into the solution and then mordanted in black ferruginous mud, iron sulphate or iron rust dissolved in organic acid[].
A dark red dye, used to redden lips and teeth, is obtained by crushing the roots into a pulp[].
A black dye, used on raffia and cotton cloth, can be extracted from the pounded bark and applied in the same way[].
The dyeing properties of the bark and roots are due to a combination of naphthoquinones and naphthoquinone dimers and trimers, among which is 7-methyljuglone, a derivate of juglone, the dye present in walnut trees (Juglans spp.). The proportions of these colorants have been found to vary according to the seasons[].

The peeled twigs are used as chewing sticks in order to clean the teeth and maintain oral hygiene[]. The bark contains compounds with antimicrobial activity and is best left on the stem when chewing[].

The wood is hard and white and can be used for making small utensils and as firewood[].

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 [].

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