Diospyros is a genus of over 700 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs, which are typically dioecious. The majority are native to the tropics and many are of local ecological importance.
Species valued for their hard, heavy, dark timber are commonly known as ebony trees, while those valued for their fruit are known as persimmon trees.
Description The genus consists of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. Its species are generally dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants.
Taxonomy 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 1,000 entries, including synonyms and items of low confidence. Over 700 species are marked as being assigned with high confidence.
The oldest fossils of the genus date to the Eocene, which indicate by that time Diospyros was widely distributed over the Northern Hemisphere.
Selected species
Diospyros abyssinica Diospyros acuminata Diospyros alatella Diospyros andamanica Diospyros apiculata Diospyros areolata Diospyros artanthifolia Diospyros atrata Diospyros attenuata Diospyros australis – yellow persimmon, black plum, "grey plum" Diospyros beccarioides Diospyros borneensis Diospyros britannoborneensis Diospyros buxifolia Diospyros cambodiana Diospyros candolleana Diospyros celebica – Makassar ebony Diospyros chaetocarpa Diospyros chamaethamnus – sand apple Diospyros chloroxylon Diospyros clementium Diospyros confertiflora Diospyros cordata Diospyros coriacea Diospyros crassiflora – Gaboon ebony, Gabon ebony, African ebony, West African ebony, Benin ebony Diospyros crockerensis Diospyros curranii Diospyros daemona Diospyros decandra – gold apple Diospyros dichrophylla Diospyros dictyoneura Diospyros diepenhorstii Diospyros discocalyx Diospyros discolor – kamagong, mabolo, butter fruit, velvet-apple Diospyros duclouxii Diospyros ebenum – Ceylon ebony, India ebony, "ebony" Diospyros elliptifolia Diospyros eriantha Diospyros eucalyptifolia Diospyros euphlehia Diospyros evena Diospyros everettii Diospyros fasciculosa Diospyros ferox Diospyros ferrea Diospyros ferruginescens Diospyros foxworthyi Diospyros frutescens Diospyros fusiformis Diospyros geminata Diospyros hallieri Diospyros havilandii Diospyros hebecarpa Diospyros hillebrandii Diospyros hirsuta Diospyros humilis – Queensland ebony Diospyros inconstans Diospyros insignis Diospyros insularis – Papua ebony Diospyros kaki – Chinese persimmon, Japanese persimmon, kaki persimmon Diospyros keningauensis Diospyros korthalsiana Diospyros kurzii – Andaman marblewood Diospyros lanceifolia Diospyros lateralis Diospyros leucomelas Diospyros longibracteata Diospyros lotus – date-plum, Caucasian persimmon, lilac persimmon Diospyros lunduensis Diospyros lycioides – bushveld bluebush subsp. guerkei subsp. nitens subsp. sericea Diospyros mabacea – red-fruited ebony Diospyros macrophylla Diospyros maingayi Diospyros major Diospyros malabarica – black-and-white ebony, pale moon ebony, Malabar ebony, gaub tree Diospyros maritima Diospyros marmorata Diospyros melanoxylon – Coromandel ebony, East Indian ebony var. tupru Diospyros mespiliformis – jackalberry, "African ebony" Diospyros mindanaensis Diospyros montana Diospyros mun – mun ebony Diospyros muricata Diospyros neurosepala Diospyros nigra – black sapote, chocolate pudding fruit, "black persimmon" Diospyros oligantha Diospyros oocarpa Diospyros oppositifolia Diospyros ovalifolia Diospyros parabuxifolia Diospyros pendula Diospyros penibukanensis Diospyros pentamera – myrtle ebony, grey persimmon, black myrtle, grey plum Diospyros perfida Diospyros pilosanthera Diospyros piscicapa Diospyros plectosepala Diospyros puncticulosa Diospyros pyrrhocarpa Diospyros quaesita Diospyros racemosa Diospyros revaughanii Diospyros rhombifolia Diospyros ridleyi Diospyros rigida Diospyros rufa Diospyros sandwicensis Diospyros seychellarum Diospyros siamang Diospyros simaloerensis Diospyros singaporensis Diospyros squamifolia Diospyros squarrosa – rigid star-berry Diospyros styraciformis Diospyros subrhomboidea Diospyros subtruncata Diospyros sulcata Diospyros sumatrana Diospyros tessellaria – Mauritius ebony Diospyros texana – Texas persimmon, Mexican persimmon, "black persimmon" Diospyros thwaitesii Diospyros tuberculata Diospyros ulo Diospyros venosa var. olivacea Diospyros virginiana – American persimmon, eastern persimmon, common persimmon, possumwood, "simmon", "sugar-plum" Diospyros walkeri Diospyros wallichii Diospyros whyteana – Cape ebony
Etymology The generic name Diospyros comes from a Latin name for the Caucasian persimmon (D. lotus), derived from the Greek διόσπυρος : dióspyros, from diós () and pyrós (). The Greek name literally means 'Zeus's wheat' but more generally intends 'divine food' or 'divine fruit'.Tice, John. H. "Essay on the Diospyros virginiana" Annual report / Missouri State Horticultural Society 1864.
Distribution and habitat Most species are native to the tropics, with only a few extending into temperate regions.
Ecology Diospyros species are important and conspicuous trees in many of their native ecosystems, such as lowland dry forests of the former Maui Nui in Hawaii, Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests, Khathiar–Gir dry deciduous forests, Louisiade Archipelago rain forests, Madagascar lowland forests, Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests, New Caledonian sclerophytic vegetation, New Guinea mangroves or South Western Ghats montane rain forests.
The green fruits are avoided by most herbivores, perhaps because they are rich in tannins. When ripe, they are eagerly eaten by many animals however, such as (in East Africa) the rare Aders' duiker (Cephalophus adersi). The foliage is used as food by the larvae of numerous Lepidoptera species:
Arctiidae: Eupseudosoma aberrans Eupseudosoma involutum (snowy eupseudosoma) Hypercompe indecisa Geometridae: Gymnoscelis rufifasciata (double-striped pug) – recorded on persimmons Limacodidae: Monema flavescens Lycaenidae: Neopithecops zalmora (Quaker) Nymphalidae: Charaxes khasianus (Kihansi charaxes) – recorded on D. natalensis Dophla evelina (redspot duke) – recorded on D. candolleana Saturniidae: Actias luna (Luna moth) – recorded on persimmons Callosamia promethea (promethea silkmoth) – recorded on persimmons Citheronia regalis (regal moth) – recorded on American persimmon (D. virginiana) Tortricidae: "Cnephasia" jactatana (black-lyre leafroller moth)
An economically significant plant pathogen infecting many Diospyros species – D. hispida, kaki persimmon (D. kaki), date-plum (D. lotus), Texas persimmon (D. texana), Coromandel ebony (D. melanoxylon) and probably others – is the sac fungus Pseudocercospora kaki, which causes a leaf spot disease.
Uses
The genus includes several plants of commercial importance, either for their edible fruit (persimmons) or for their timber (ebony). The latter are divided into two groups in trade: the pure black ebony (notably from D. ebenum, but also several other species), and the striped ebony or calamander wood (from D. celebica, D. mun and others). Most species in the genus produce little to none of this black ebony-type wood; their hard timber (e.g. of American persimmon, D. virginiana) may still be used on a more limited basis.
The leaves of Diospyros blancoi have been shown to contain isoarborinol methyl ether (also called cylindrin) and fatty esters of α- and β-amyrin. Both isoarborinol methyl ether and the amyrin mixture demonstrated antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, and Trichophyton interdigitale. Anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties have also been shown for the isolated amyrin mixture.
Leaves of the Coromandel ebony (D. melanoxylon) are used to roll South Asian beedi cigarettes. Several species are used in herbalism, and D. leucomelas yields the versatile medical compound betulinic acid. Extracts from Diospyros plants have also been proposed as novel anti-viral treatment. Though bees do not play a key role as pollinators, in plantations Diospyros may be of some use as honey plants. D. mollis, locally known as mặc nưa, is used in Vietnam to dye the famous black lãnh Mỹ A silk of Tân Châu district.
In culture The reverence for these trees in their native range is reflected by their use as floral emblems. In Indonesia, D. celebica (Makassar ebony, known locally as eboni) is the provincial tree of Central Sulawesi, while ajan kelicung (D. macrophylla) is that of West Nusa Tenggara. The emblem of the Japanese island of Ishigaki is the Yaeyama kokutan (D. ferrea). The Gold apple (D. decandra), called "Trái thị" in Vietnamese, is a tree in the Tấm Cám fable. It is also the provincial tree of Chanthaburi as well as Nakhon Pathom Provinces in Thailand, while the black-and-white ebony (D. malabarica) is that of Ang Thong Province. The name of the Thai district Amphoe Tha Tako, literally means "District of the Diospyros pier", the latter being a popular local gathering spot.
See also Adriaan van Royen Ebonol Tonewood
References
External links