Diospyros ferrea
Diospyros ferrea | |
---|---|
Conservation status | |
Not evaluated (IUCN 2.3) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
(unranked): | Angiosperms |
(unranked): | Eudicots |
(unranked): | Asterids |
Order: | Ericales |
Family: | Ebenaceae |
Genus: | Diospyros |
Species: | D. ferrea |
Binomial name | |
Diospyros ferrea (Willd.) Bakh. | |
Synonyms | |
Diospyros ferrea, known as Black ebony, is a tree in the Ebony family, distributed in Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malay Peninsula, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Laos (Khammouan).
Common names
- Philippines - batulinau
- Indonesia - bibisan, ai meten, wawama
- Sri Lanka - Hik-ul-Haenda
- French - ngavi du fourré littoral (‘ngavi’ of littoral thickets, Aubréville).
- West African - GHANA ADANGME gblεt∫o (FRI) NIGERIA HAUSA kas kawami (KO&S) YORUBA paroko (KO&S) SENEGAL DIOLA (Bayot) é tikuñi (JB) MANDING-MANINKA ko gélin ko: tree (JB) WOLOF sélah (JB)
Distribution
From West Africa to India, Indo-China, north to the Ryukyu Islands, east to the Malesian area, Australia, Melanesia and Polynesia.
Appearance
Trees with black bark, exudates absent. Leaves veins distinctly arching and anastomosing at margin, visible on mature leaves only. Flowers unisexual on different trees. Flower calyx with 3 green sepals 3, green, persistent in fruit.
Habitat
It is an evergreen shrub or small tree up to 12 m high, branches ascending. In the trunk, bole is straight. Bark fissured, blackish, and lenticelled.
Morphology
Leaves are simple, alternate and distichous, about 3-11 by 1.5-7 cmin length, shape is oblong or elliptic or obovate. Apex is acute; base is acute to attenuate or slightly rounded. Margin is entire, blade coriaceous, glabrous on both sides. Midrib of the leaf is flat above, primary vein is single, secondary veins are oblique to the midrib, widely parallel, tertiary veins are oblique. Petiole pubescent later glabrescent. Stipule absent.
Uses
The wood is said to be used for cabinet work. The bark can be used to make a cordage. D. ferrea is reported to be an important source of black ebony, but this is doubtful because of the unsatisfactory taxonomy of the group involved.
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Diospyros ferrea. |
- Lemmens, R.H.M.J.; Soerianegara, I.; Wong, W.C., eds. (1995). Timber trees: Minor commercial timbers. Plant Resources of South-East Asia 5 (2). Leiden, the Netherlands: Backhuys Publishers. pp. 193–194.
External resources
- Dressler, S.; Schmidt, M. & Zizka, G. (2014). [http://www.africanplants.senckenberg.de/root/index.php?submitForm=true&page_id=77&searchTextMenue=Diospyros+ferrea&filterRegionIDs[]=6&filterRegionIDs[]=1&filterRegionIDs[]=2&filterRegionIDs[]=3&filterRegionIDs[]=5 "Diospyros ferrea"]. African plants – a Photo Guide. Frankfurt/Main: Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg.
- http://211.114.21.20/tropicalplant/html/print.jsp?rno=950
- http://plants.jstor.org/upwta/2_11
- http://www.biotik.org/laos/species/d/diofe/diofe_en.html
- http://manoa.hawaii.edu/botany/plants_of_micronesia/index.php/scientific-names/360-diospyros-ferrea