Diospyros Cordifolius
Family : Ebenaceae
Synonymous : Diospyros montana
Common Name : Bombay Ebony
English Name : Bombay Ebony
Hindi Name : Bhak Tendu
Telugu Name : Kakaulimera
Bengali Name : Tamal
Tree Characteristics :
Dioecious trees, to 10 m high; bark greyish-brown; blaze sulphur yellow; branchlets tomentose; strong often branched thorns scattered over the trunk and larger branches. Leaves simple, alternate, estipulate; The plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for its wood and edible fruit.
Nursery:
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. 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.
Economic Uses :
Ø The wood is grey, often tinged with yellow or brown, streaked with narrow patches of darker colour, especially towards the centre, but there is no regular ebony heartwood.
Ø The heartwood (or sometimes sap and heart together) is used for scabbards, canes, hilts, tool handles, gunstocks, saw frames, etc.; it is a favorite for musical instruments, especially finger boards and keys of guitars; furniture, cabinetwork, inlaying; paper weights, inkstands and similar desk supplies.
The sapwood, which is almost as hard as the heartwood and very much tougher, is an excellent material for T-squares and other drawing instruments, for shuttles, bobbins, spindles, golf-club heads and shafts, axe, pick, and hammer handles, etc.
