Diospyros mabacea Diospyros mabacea Diospyros mabacea, the red-fruited ebony is a rare rainforest tree in the ebony or persimmon family growing in north eastern New South Wales. Listed as endangered by extinction. Found at only thirteen sites in sub tropical rainforest near Murwillumbah and Mullumbimby (28° S), growing at low altutide. The original habitat is mostly destroyed by land clearing and housing. The current populations are threatened by invasive plants, particularly vines. Cattle trample over seedlings in private property. Not recorded in the nearby Gold Coast, however, it is possible that it once grew there before the extensive urban development in the
Diospyros "Zeus's wheat" but more generally intends "divine food" or "divine fruit". Muddled translations sometimes give rise to curious and inappropriate interpretations such as "God's pear" and "Jove's fire". The genus is a large one and the number of species has been estimated variously, depending on the date of the source. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, list has over 1000 entries, including synonyms and items of low confidence. Over 700 species are marked as being assigned with high confidence. The leaves of "Diospyros blancoi" have been shown to contain isoarborinol methyl ether (also called cylindrin) and fatty esters of α- and