Diospyros ebenum Diospyros ebenum Diospyros ebenum, or Ceylon ebony, is a species of tree in the genus Diospyros and the family Ebenaceae. The tree produces valuable black wood. This middle-high evergreen tree grows very slowly up to tall. The leaves are entire-like and have a prolonged oval form, about long and wide. The fruit is not very big, approximately in diameter. It resembles small persimmon fruit. Sap wood is light yellowish gray. The wood core is glossy-black seldom with occasional light fibers. This wood with metallic gloss also has fine and smooth texture. The wood grains can be straight, a bit chaotically
Diospyros tessellaria flowers and fleshy fruits. Like other species of ebony trees, Mauritian ebony trees yield a dark black ebony wood. In its natural habitat, it was a massive canopy tree - common in the dry and upland wet forests of the island. Vice-Admiral Wybrandt van Warwijck landed on Mauritius on September 17, 1598, thus beginning Dutch involvement with the island. In 1638, settlers from the Dutch East India Company (VOC) attempted to colonize the island and set up an organized ebony business to sell the rare black wood. However, due to issues with cyclones destroying the settlement, rats destroying crops, settlers