Diospyros melanoxylon Roxb

Description :

Coromandel ebony or East Indian ebony is a medium-sized tree or shrub that can be deciduous in drier localities and evergreen in moister areas. Its height can be up to 25m high. The bole of the plant can be 60cm in diameter. It is leafless in the hot weather conditions and reappears in normal weather conditions. In wet or moist areas, it is evergreen. The primary root is thick, fleshy and long, after that greyish, woody usually swollen in upper part near surface. Leaves have the leathery texture and are up to 35cm long. The leaves of the trees have flavones. The flowers appear from mid-April till end of June on fresh shoots. The fruit take one year to ripen, the olive-green fruit is oval in shape and the trees produce very good seeds in two years.

Distribution :

It can be found in India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It is also be found in other areas like Philippines, Japan, China, and Thailand. This plant grows best in the locations where annual daytime temperature is within the range of 25-35 ⁰C. Matured plants can be destroyed by temperatures of -5 ⁰C or lower, but young growth is harshly damaged at 1 ⁰C. The plant needs annual mean rainfall range from 800-1200mm, and it can tolerate from 500-1500mm mean annual rainfall.  This plant prefers the pH range from 5.5-7 and tolerating 5- 7.5. Well grown plants are drought tolerant.

Uses :

This plant has many uses; the fruits are edible. The yellowish pulp of the fruit is sweet and soft. It has also some medicinal uses, the seeds can be act as intoxicating agnates they detoxify the body from harmful toxicants. They have been used anciently in India as a cure for mental and heart problems]. The fruits have astringent and cooling effect. The dried flowers are beneficial for the cure of blood, skin, and urinary diseases. Processes medicines made from this plant can be used for the treatment of diarrhoea. The wood from the tree can be used in building materials as the barks and stem are very hard and have ability to last long.