| Gaub Tree | |
|---|---|
| Leaves of the Malabar Ebony | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ebenaceae |
| Genus: | Diospyros |
| Species: | D. malabarica |
| Binomial name | |
| Diospyros malabarica (Desr.) Kostel. |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Garcinia malabarica Buch.-Ham. |
|
The Gaub Tree, Malabar ebony, Black-and-white Ebony or Pale Moon Ebony (Diospyros malabarica) (Bengali: গাব/দেশী গাব) is a species of flowering tree in the family Ebenaceae that is native to the Indian Subcontinent and South East Asia.
It is a large tree, reaching up to 35 m in height with a trunk up to 70 cm in diameter.[1] The fruits are round, yellow when ripe. Its common name is derived from the coast of southwestern India, Malabar. It is the provincial tree of Ang Thong Province in Thailand.
Both the bark of the tree and the unripe fruit have medicinal uses in Ayurveda. This tree was mentioned as Tinduka by Sanskrit writers.[2]
Unripe leaves and fruits were traditionally used to dye cloth black.