Diospyros ferrea

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, Laos (Khammouan) and Taiwan (Hengchun Peninsula and Orchid Island).

Diospyros ferrea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ebenaceae
Genus:	Diospyros
Species:	D. ferrea
Binomial name
Diospyros ferrea (Willd.) Bakh.
Synonyms
Ehretia ferrea Willd. Diospyros ferrea var. buxifolia (Rottb.) Bakh. Maba buxifolia (Rottb.) Juss. Pisonia buxifolia Rottb.

Distribution

It is found from West Africa to India, Indo-China, north to the Ryukyu Islands (Japan), east to the Malesian area, Australia, Melanesia and Polynesia.

Uses

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.

Gallery

• 
  Plant, slow growth, dark green leaves, dioecious
• 
  Black bark and heartwood
• 
  Cracked bark shape
• 
  New branches

References

• Lemmens, R.H.M.J.; Soerianegara, I.; Wong, W.C., eds. (1995). Timber trees: Minor commercial timbers. Plant Resources of South-East Asia. Vol. 5. Leiden, the Netherlands: Backhuys Publishers. pp. 193–194.

External resources

• Dressler, S.; Schmidt, M. & Zizka, G. (2014). "Diospyros ferrea". African plants – a Photo Guide. Frankfurt/Main: Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg.
• https://archive.today/20130707154040/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
• https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053115/http://manoa.hawaii.edu/botany/plants_of_micronesia/index.php/scientific-names/360-diospyros-ferrea
• https://tai2.ntu.edu.tw/species/508%20001%2004%200
• https://kmweb.coa.gov.tw/theme_data.php?theme=plant_illustration&id=555