Diospyros ebenum

Description

This middle-high evergreen tree grows very slowly up to 20–25 meters tall. The leaves are entire-like and have a prolonged oval form, about 6—15 centimeters long and 3-5 centimeters wide. The fruit is not very big, approximately 2 centimeters in diameter. It resembles small persimmon fruit. Sap wood is light yellowish gray. The wood core is glossy-black seldom with occasional light fibers. This wood with metallic gloss also has fine and smooth texture. The wood grains can be straight, a bit chaotically organized and wavy. Dry wood density is 1190 kg/m3.

Habitat

The tree is occurring in southern India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The variety of the wood found in North Sulawesi, Indonesia is Diospyros ebenum Koenig. Known as "Kaluwara කළුවර ගස් " by Sinhalese people due to hard black wood of the tree.

Wood

Nowadays purchasing Ceylon ebony wood is next to impossible because the tree is rare and its wood is highly valuable. It possesses the following valuable qualities: high wood hardness (twice as hard as oak), easy to polish (suitable for high-quality polishing, after which it becomes perfectly smooth), it has practically no pitting, provides glossy smooth surface, water and termites resistant. The tree’s wood density is extremely high (up to 1200 kg/m3), which makes it impossible for wood to float. It is also hard to treat both manually and mechanically. The wood itself is short grain, subject to cracking.

Polished wood feels cold like metal. Heat emission is so high that it causes melting of metal vessels in which the wood is burnt.

Uses

In the XVI—XIX centuries the best furniture was made of Ceylon ebony. The wood was preferred for making door and window handles, table-ware shanks, while the cutting was used for knitting needles and hooks or razor handles making. Today the wood is perfectly used in handmade artwork and for producing some parts of musical instruments (for example, grand piano keys, necks, string holders and tripods for instruments), turnery (including chess pieces), knife hafts, brush holders and chopsticks. Also it is good for mosaic wooden inlay.

The wood is extremely valuable, so it is sold in kilograms.

Protection

Ceylon ebony wood high demand caused the threat of this species extinction. In 1994 the World Conservation Union included Ceylon ebony tree into the Red Book. Both India and Sri Lanka have laws prohibiting international trade of the wood.